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HISTORY OF EGYPT
From the Earliest Times to
THE XVIth Dynasty
BY
W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L., LL.D.
EDWARDS PROFESSOR OF EGYPTOLOGY IN UNIVERSITY COLLBGR, LONDON
MEMB. ARCHiEOL. INST., BERLIN
fr/TH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
THIRD EDITION
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
153-157 Fifth Avenue
1897
This History reill ei
■e Seven Volumes:
Vol, I, Dynasties I.-XVI. By W. M. F. PetbiE '
V<A II, „ XVII.-XViri. By W. M. F. Petrie
Vol. HI. IV. „ XIX. -XXX. By W. M. F. Petrie
Vol. IV, Ptolemaic Egypt.
Vol. V. Roman Egypl. By J. G, Milne
Vol VI. Arabic Eg-ypt. By Stanley Lane Poole
JAIV 24 i:33
■4
^ K
! > ' '
PREFACE
The aim in producing the present history has been to
place in the hands of students a book of reference
which shall suffice for all ordinary purposes ; while
stating the information in such a form that any person
who is likely to read such a work may grasp a general
view of the course of one of the oldest civilisations of
the world. A history that merely states the facts on
the writer's authority may do wxll enough for the
general reader ; but for the student such writing is
almost useless, and references are essential. In these
pages every fact and every object has at least one
authority stated for it, except where it rests on the
author's personal observation. But it has not been
needful to give more than one reference, usually the
most accessible or useful, on each fact. Those who
want to read up all the literature on any detail, will
naturally refer to Wiedemann's Geschtch^e, which is an
index to the subject so invaluable that no one can do
much without it. And though every writer since that
work has appeared must naturally be indebted to its
pages, if dealing with Egyptian history or monu-
ments, yet the present work is based on an actual
a "
vi PREFACE
examination of every accessible book that is here
quoted.
This history, however, does not aim at being a
bibliography of the subject ; nor has it seemed desir-
able to bring in theories or views which appear to have
passed away, and not to need present attention. While
endeavouring to notice everything that a student should
•bear in mind on each period, yet more space has been
given in proportion to new facts or new theories, pro
and coii^ than to those which will be already familiar to
persons who have read works on the subject. Similarly,
in the illustrations, it has been sought to give such as
are not commonly known, wherever it was suitable to
do so. In this way this work is not only complete in
itself, but may serve as a supplement, brought down
to date, to the other histories that have appeared.
It will be found to provide illustrations, later informa-
tion, and more chronological discussion than exists
in the present histories of Brugsch, Wiedemann, or
Meyer.
In the matter of chronology — the backbone of history
— it is sought here to glean everything that can be
noticed as to the internal history of each period. And
on the still more difficult question of general chron-
ology, an attempt has been made to give some main
outline of it to assist the memory. Where dates are
confessedly so uncertain, it may seem presumptuous to
keep a running head-date to the pages ; but yet it is
better to thus assist the reader's ideas of the relative
periods of different rulers, than to refuse any such help
on the ground that it can only be approximate. In the
last chapter the actual bases of our present chronology
are fully stated ; and it must always be remembered by
the reader that the range of uncertainty may be about
PREFACE vii
a century in the earlier parts of this volume^ diminishing
perhaps to about a generation by the close of the volume.
No greater accuracy than this is in the least professed
in the numbers here assigned. But as their relation to
one another over short periods is probably correct
within a few years, it is needful to state them to the
nearest year.
In the very vexed question of transliteration, a
course has been followed which will probably not
satisfy either of the extreme parties. The names are
neither reduced to unpronounceable skeletons, nor are
they dressed out in ornate vocalisation. The skeleton
and comma system may be very well for purely philo-
logical purposes, but is a gratuitous obstacle to the
reader who has not taken a preliminary course of such
work ; while the following of Greek and Coptic vocal-
isation renders it difficult to trace the word in hiero-
glyphics. Hence a system has been adopted very near
to that which is most familiar to the English reader in
other books.
Throughout this work I have received continual help
from my constant friend, Mr. F. LI. Griffith, whose
special knowledge of the language has provided many
new translations of texts here quoted, and whose
familiarity with the literature has often been of great
service to me.
This volume is but the first of a series which is in-
tended to embrace the whole history of Egypt down to
modern times. It is expected that three volumes will
treat of the period of the Pharaohs, one volume of the
Ptolemies, one volume of the Roman age, and one
volume of Arabic Egypt. So far as practicable, the
same system will be maintained throughout, though by
different writers ; and the aim of all will be to provide
viii PREFACE
a general history, with such fulness and precision as
shall suffice for the use of students. The material is
necessarily restricted here to the dynastic history ; and
there is no intention of including a history of art,
civilisation, or literature, which would each require a
volume as large as this.
CONTENTS
CHAP
PREFACE .
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ADDENDA
I. PREHISTORIC EGYPT
II. THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
III. FOURTH DYNASTY^
IV. FIFTH DYNASTY .
V. SIXTH DYNASTY *
VI. SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES
VII. ELEVENTH DYNASTY
VIII. TWELFTH DYNASTY
IX. THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH
X. THE HYKSOS
XL NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
INDEX . ,
PAGE
• • •
V
• • •
X
A • •
xiv
• • •
XV ii
• • •
I
•^
i6
• • •
30
• • •
68
• • •
86
s
108
• t •
"3
• • •
145
H DYNASTIES .
200
• • >
233
• • .
248
• » •
255
ix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG. ^ ^ PAGE
1. Diagram of great fault rorming Nile valley, looking
north 2
2. Diagram of great fault, eroded into a gorge, fed by
water-tunnelled caverns in the cliffs .... 3
3. Diagram of gorge filled with debris, forming present
Nile bed 3
4. Diagram of a collapsed cavern, showing features actu-
ally observed above Nile level, and inferred below
Nile level. Scale i inch to 800 feet .... 4
5. Cliffs channelled by rainfall, looking through the mouth
of a channel, Valley of Tombs of Kings, Thebes . 4
6. Palaeolithic flint, water- worn, Esneh. (B. Mus.) . . 5
7. Flint implements, Kahun. Xllth dynasty ... 8
8. Aquiline type, upper part of diorite statue of Khafra,
IVth dynasty 10
9. Snouty type (G. Mus.) . 11
10. Large-eyed type, upper part of statue of Mertitefs,
IVth dynasty 11
11. Men of the land of POn ....... 12
12. Sculptures on statue of Min, Koptos . . . . 13
13. Philistines (Medinet Habu) .15
14. List of kings on the Table of Abydos. Sety L, XlXth
dynasty 17
15. Portion of the Turin papyrus, showing three kings of
the Xlllth, and the beginning of the XlVth dynasty 18
16. Late scarabs of Mena 24
17. The step pyramid of Sakkara ..... 25
18. Granite statue, Memphis 26
19. Wooden panels of Hesy (G. Mus.) .... 27
20. Head of Hesy 28
21. Vase lid of Sneferu (G. Mus.) 31
22. Section of pyramid of Medum. Scale i inch to 200 feet 32
23. Pyramid angle, 14 on 11; mastaba angle, 4 on i . 33
24. Pyramid temple of Mcdum, drawn from measurements 34
X
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
FIG. PAGB
25. Rahotep and Nefert, painted limestone (G. Mus.) . 37
26. Plaqueof Khufu(F.P. Coll.) 38
27. The Nine Pyramids of Gizeh from the south . . 39
28. Rock tablet of Khufu, Wady Maghara .... 43
29. Names of Khafra from a statue ..... 47
30. West side of granite temple, showing- passage and
causeway leading askew up to temple of second
pyramid ... 49
31. Plan of granite temple. Scale ^^ .... 50
32. The Sphinx, side view 52
33. Khafra. Diorite statue (G. Mus.) .... 54
34. Steatite cylinder of Menkaura. ^ scale (P.P. Coll.) . 55
35. Section of the pyramid of Menkaura. .... 57
36. Statuette of Menkaura (G. Mus.) . . . . . 62
37. Scarab of Menkaura, and restoration by Hatshepsut . 62
38. Scarab of Shepseskaf( P.P. Coll.) 64
39. Cylinder of Userkaf(B. Mus.) 70
40. Cylinder of Sahura. ^ scale (P.P. Coll.) . . . 71
41. Cylinder of Neferarkara. ^ scale .... 73
42. Scarab of Kakaa (B. Mus.) 74
43. Scarab of Shepseskara (G. Coll.) ..... 74
44. Scarab of An (P.P. Coll.) 75
45. Statuette of Ra 'en 'user (G. Mus.) . .... 77
46. Slab with figure of Menkauhor, found re-used in
Serapeum (P. Mus.) 78
47. Scarab of Assa (P.P. Coll.) 79
48. Flint ink slab of Assa (P.P. Coll.) . .... 80
49. Stele at Elephantine. Scale i;V • • • • • 82
50. Section and plan of passages f the pyramid of Unas.
83
87
89
Scale 3^
5 1» Alabaster jar lid of Teta. Scale J
52. Scarab of Pepy I. (M. Coll.) ....
53. Rubble walls and chips forming the mass of the
pyramid of Pepy I. At the right is the top of the
chamber masonry
54. Cylinder of Pepy I. (Tylor Coll.) .
55. Alabaster vase of Merenra (Flor. Mus.)
56. Scarab of Merenra (P.P. Coll.)
57. Rosette of Pepy II. (G. Coll.)
58. Slab of Pepy II., Koptos ....
59. Types of scarabs of Pepy and following dynasties
60. Scarab of Nebkhara (H. Coll.)
61. Alabaster of Horneferhen. ^ scale (P.P. Coll.)
62. Scarab of Neby (G. Coll.) ....
63. Earliest symmetrical scarabs (B. Mus.; P.P. Coll
64. Scarab of Raenka (P. Mus.) ....
65. Scarab of Khety (P. Mus.) ....
66. Copper- work, brazier of Khety (P. Mus.)
67. Wooden palette of Kameryra (P. Mus.)
)
91
96
97
[OI
[OI
[03
[03
[06
[06
13
13
13
H
14
15
XII
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIG.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72-
73.
74.
75-
76.
77-
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93-
94.
95-
96.
97-
98.
99-
100.
lOI.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
no.
III.
112.
"3-
Scarab of Maaabra (G. Mus.)
Scarab of Skhanra (F.P. Coll.)
Scarab of Khauserra (G. Coll.)
Scarab of Aahotepra (P.P. Coll.) .
Scarab of Aa (G. Mus.) .
Base of statue of Khyan, Bubastis (G. Mus.
Cylinders and scarabs of Khyan .
Scarab of Uazed (G. Coll.) .
Scarab of Yapeqher (M. Coll.)
Prince Antef (part of stele, G. Mus.)
Coffin of Antef I. (P. Mus.) .
Coffin of Antef II. (P. Mus.) .
Pyramidion of Antef III. (B. Mus.)
Coffin of Antef III. (B. Mus.)
Scarab of Mentuhotep II. (P. Mus.)
Stele of Antef IV., Elephantine
Scarab of Antef V. (F. P. Coll. ) .
Slab with head of Antef V., Koptos
Scarab of Mentuhotep III. (B. Mus.)
Fig'ures at Shut er Reg-al
Scarab of Sankhkara (F.P. Coll.) .
Scarab of Amenemhat I. (E. Coll.)
Head of Amenemhat I., red granite, Tanis
Slab of Amenemhat I., Koptos
Scarab of Usertesen I. (F.P. Coll.)
Bust of Usertesen I., black gfranite, Tanis
Road up to tomb of Ameny, Beni Hasan
Usertesen I., Abydos ....
Usertesen I., Koptos ....
Scarab of Amenemhat II. (G. Coll.)
Sarbut el Khadem
Cylinder of Usertesen II. (B. Mus.)
Pyramid of Illahun from the south
Section and plan of passages in pyramid of Illahun
•jcaie r/jn^ . • . . .
Chief and women of Aamu
Queen Nefert, Tanis
Scarab of Usertesen III. (P. Mus.)
Inlaid pectoral made under Usertesen III., Dahshur
View of Semneh ....
Scarab of Amenemhat III.
Head of Amenemhat III. , from his statue at St. Petersburg- 185
Plan of passages in Hawara pyramid. Scale tujsts
Alabaster altar of Ptah neferu, Hawara pyramid
Two tablets of Amenemhat III., Wady Maghara
Map of the ancient Lake Moeris in the Fayum basin
The shaded part is that reclaimed from the lake by
Amenemhat III.
Scarab of Amenemhat IV. (P. Mus.)
PACE
116
116
117
117
117
118
119
121
122
126
127
128
129
130
131
133
134
135
138
139
141
148
^S2
158
159
161
162
164
166
168
169
170
173
175
176
177
180
184
186
188
189
190
196
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Xlll
14.
15-
16.
17-
18.
19.
20.
[21.
[22.
23
24.
25-
26.
[27.
28.
29.
31-
32.
33-
134-
'35-
136.
37-
^38.
39-
[40.
[41.
[42.
t43-
f44-
t45-
[46.
[47.
[48.
[49.
ISO,
'5'.
}
Scarab of Sebekneferu (G. Coll.) .
Cylinder of Sebekneferu (B. Mus.)
Cowroids of Sehotepabra (F.P. Coll.) .
Scarabs of Rasebekhotep (P.P. and H. Colls.)
Cylinder of Sebekhotep I. (B. Mus.)
Grey g^ranite statue of Mermeshau, Tanis
Scarab of Sebekhotep II. (G. Mus.)
Stele of Sebekhotep II. Royal daug^hters adoring- Min
Scarab of Neferhotep (F.P. Coll.) .
Black basalt statuette of Neferhotep (Bologna Mus.)
Scarab of Sebekhotep III. (F.P. Coll.) .
Red granite statue of Sebekhotep III., Tanis
Grey granite colossus of Sebekhotep III., Island of
Arqo .......
Scarab of Khakara ( F. P. Coll. ) .
Scarab of Sebekhotep IV. (G. Coll. )
Scarab of Sebekhotep V. (G. Mus.)
Scarab of Aaab (F.P. Coll.) .
Scarab of Merneferra (G. Mus.J .
Scarab of Merhotepra (P. Mus.) .
Scarab of Nebmaatra (P. Mus.) .
Scarab of Nehesi (Brent Coll.)
Basalt statuette of Sebekemsaf, Thebes (F.P. Coll.)
Scarab of Upuatemsaf(H. Coll.) .
Cartouches of Khen'zer (P. Mus.)
Scarab of Neferabra (T. Mus. )
Black granite fish offerers, Tanis .
Black granite sphinx, Tanis .
)
Granite head, Bubastis ....
Cartouche of Apepa I., Gebelen (G. Mus.)
Scarabs of Apepa I. . .
Black granite altar of Apepa II., Cairo (G.
Obelisk of Ra*aa*seh, Tanis .
Scarab of Dudumes (F.P. Coll.) .
Cylinders of Sebeqkara (F.P. Coll.)
Rock marking, Silsileh ....
Scarab of Rahotep (F.P. Coll.) .
Mus.
{
PAGE
197
197
208
208
209
210
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
216
218
218
219
219
220
220
220
221
223
225
226
229
237
238
/239
1 240
241
242
243
244
24s
24s
246
246
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
The following" abbreviations are used to denote the works and
the collections most frequently quoted. The distinction between
pag'es and plates is sufficiently shown by the character of numerals
employed.
r\.* • • • 1
L'Anthropolog-ie (Journal).
X&.« M-Jm • • •
L'Arch^olog-ie Eg-yptienne, Maspero.
A.R. . . .
Archaeological Report, Eg^ypt Exploration Fund.
X\.t /Lit . . a
Zeitschrift Aeg. Sprache.
B.A.G. . .
Berlin Anthrop. Gesellsch.
D.G.
Brugsch, Geographic.
B.H.
,, History (English edition).
B. Mus. .
British Museum.
B.K.. .
Brugsch, Recueil.
B.T. . . .
,, Thesaurus.
O.K.
Chabas, Melanges Egn.
CM. . .
Champollion, Monuments.
C.N. . . .
,, Notices.
C.O.E. .
Congr^s Oriental, St. Etienne, 1878.
E. Coll. .
Edwards Collection.
E.G.
Ebers, Gozen zum Sinai.
F.H. . .
Fraser, Graffiti of Hat-nub.
F. Mus. .
Florence Museum.
P.P. Coll. .
Flinders Petrie Collection.
G. Bh. .
Griffith, Beni Hasan.
G. Coll. .
Grant Collection.
G. H. .
GolenischefF, Hammamat.
G.K.
Griffith, Kahun Papyri.
G. Mus. .
Ghizeh Museum.
G.S.
Griffith, Siut.
H. Coll. .
Hilton Price Collection.
J. A. I. . .
. Jour. Anthrop. Inst.
Ltml\» » .
. Lepsius, Auswahl.
L.D. . .
„ Denkmaler.
L. xv. •
„ Konigsbuch.
Lt* JL«» • .
„ Letters (English edition).
Lb. D. . .
, Lieblein, Dictionary of Names.
M.A. . . .
, Marietta, Abydos Catalogue.
M.A. ii. .
„ Abydos ii.
M.A. P. .
. Mission Archl. Franc.
M. Coll. .
, Murch Collection.
M.D. . .
, Monuments Divers.
M.G. . . ,
, Meyer, Geschichte.
M.I. . . ,
, De Morgan, Monuments et Inscriptions.
M.K. . . .
Mariette, Kamak.
M.M. . . ,
„ Mastabas.
Ms. A. . . .
, Maspero, L'Arch^ol. Egn.
Ms. C. . . .
„ Contes Pop.
XIV
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
XV
Ms. G. .
My. E.
N.A. .
N.B. .
N. Bh. .
P.H. .
P.I.. .
P.K. .
P.M. .
P. Mus.
P.N. .
P.P. .
P.R. .
P.S. .
P. Sc. .
P.T. i. an
Pr. M. .
R.A. .
R.E.
R.P. .
R.S.D.
Rec.
S.B.A. .
S.B.A.T.
S. Cat. V
S.T. .
W.G. .
W.G.S.
d ii.
if
»>
>i
Maspero, Guide Bulak.
Murray, Egypt.
Navillc, Ahnas.
,f Bubastis.
Newberry, Beni Hasan.
Petrie, Hawara.
Illahun.
Kahun.
Medum.
Paris (Louvre) Museum.
Petrie, Nebesheh.
,, Pyramids.
Pierret, Recueil Inscrip. Louvre.
Petrie, Season 1887.
,, Historical Scarabs.
,, Tanis, i. and ii.
Prisse, Monuments.
De Roug-^, Album.
Revue Critique.
De Roug-^, Etudes Egn,
Records of the Past.
De Roug^, Six Dynasties.
Recueil de Travaux Egyptn. (Journal).
Soc. Bibl. Arch. Proc.
,, ,, Trans.
Schiaparelli, Catalogue Florence.
Schack-Schackenborg, Unterwiss. des K. Amenem-
hat.
Schiaparelli, Tomba Herchuf
Wiedemann, Geschichte.
Supplement.
»»
))
The above worksy and others^ can be consulted in the Edwards
Library^ University College^ Loftdon,
The transliteration used here is as follows : —
a or d
a
a or a
u
y
1
/vvs/w\
d
z soft J
(as in azure)
e is inserted between
consonants for
speaking pur-
poses. Sometimes
the vocalisation
I shown by Greek
and Coptic forms
is retained where
it has become vet>j
famWvar.
ADDENDA
As in a fresh edition many results of the last few
months require notice, while their details are not yet
sufficiently studied to place them definitely in their full
historical position, such most recent addenda are here
placed apart. M.F.D. refers to De Morgan, ** Fouilles
k Dahchour." /
In reference to pp. iv. and vii., it is now expected
that the volumes of the period of the Pharaohs will
extend to four instead of three, the second volume
containing the history of the XVII-XVIII dynasties.
Page 6. Palaeolithic flints of large size and unworn
state have been now found on the top of the plateau,
1400 feet above the Nile, showing that that region
was the home of man during the high Nile age. Also
smaller flints, of perhaps a later palaeolithic period,
like those found by General Pitt-Rivers in the gravels
at Thebes, have been found imbedded in the thick
ancient river gravels of the high Nile, twenty or thirty
feet above the present river. These show that man
had probably been long in the Nile valley while the
river was still high and rolling strongly enough to form-
gravels.
Page 7. The magnificent knives (last line) are now
known to belong to the period between the Vlth and
Xth dynasties.
h xvii
xviii ADDENDA
Page 34 (line 14 from bottom). A fine seated statue
of Henka, who was keeper of the two pyramids of
Sneferu, was found at Medum, and is now in the Berlin
Museum (B.C. 51).
P^&6 34 (5th line from foot). A prophet of Sneferu
was buried at Dahshur (M.F.D. 12).
Page 89. After '' Rock graffiti, Hat-nub," add:—
Dendera, block (Diimichen, Dendera, iv. a.).
,, mentioned at (Diimichen, Dendera, i.).
„ offerings by Pepy represented (Diimichen, Den-
dera, ii.).
Page 96 (line 3 from foot). After "Collections"
add **see Cailliaud, Voyage k L'Oasis, Plate xxxvii.
17, 18." After)) add **also a slate pendant, reading
* King Pepy, beloved of Tahuti ' (at Bologna)."
Page 112. Excavations during the spring of 1895
between Negadeh and Ballas have shown that a
foreign race intruded into Egypt, entirely driving out
the earlier inhabitants, and not even acquiring any of
their arts or productions. From the superposition of
burials, it appears that these foreigners (which we will
here call the New Race) came in after the close of the
old kingdom, and before the middle kingdom ; that is
to say, after the VI th and before the Xth dynasty,
which was contemporary with the earlier part of the
Xlth. Thus they are limited to the Vllth-IXth
dynasties. Now, further, it will be seen, p. 118, that
Khyan, Uazed, and Yakebher belong to probably the
I Xth and Xth dynasties ; and Khyan was suzerain as
far as Gebelen. This would limit the New Race to the
time when the Vllth and Vlllth dynasties were ruling
at Memphis. Two towns and over two thousand
graves of this race have been excavated, but not a
single object of the usual Egyptian types has been
found. These people were entirely ignorant of hiero-
glyphs, and probably of any system of writing
Personal marks of ownership and very rude designs
of animals are all that they drew. Their carving in
ADDENDA xix
the solid was also very rude. In other respects, how-
ever, they were above the Egyptians. Flint working
was developed, perhaps, more highly than in any other
country ; the exquisitely regular, mechanically perfect
flaking, the minute toothing, and the imperceptible
dressing down of surfaces by chips, are far finer than
anything done by Egyptians. The very fine large
knives already known (Ashmolean and Pitt-Rivers
Museum, Oxford) belong to this class. Stone vases
were also excellently worked, details and edges being
finished with exactness, but entirely by hand, without
the lathe. The delicately wrought flint bracelets now
prove to have been made by the New Race. Copper
was known, and used for tools and weapons. Pottery
was the favourite work of these people, and for variety,
fine forms, and finish, they equalled or exceeded
the Egyptian skill. The red-faced vases, sometimes
with lustrous black tops, and the jars with wavy
handles, degrading to cylinder forms, were their special
fabric ; and they imported the buff jars imitated from
stone forms, and decorated with red outlines of men,
animals, spirals, etc., and also. the black incised ware.
The variously formed rude figures of slate that are
known from Egypt also belong to this race, and were
used for grinding the green malachite which was
painted round the eyes.
Their burials were contrary to the Egyptian. They
selected shoals in the valleys, dug square pit graves,
and buried the bodies contracted, with the head to the
south, facing west. A great burning was made at the
funeral, though the body was not burnt, and the ashes
were collected in jars, which were placed in the grave.
Sometimes large numbers of these jars, even up to
eighty, are found together in rows along the north end
of the grave.
The position of these people appears to have been
strong" between Abydos and Gebelen, which were their
main posts, as we learn from native dealers who sell
the plunderings of cemeteries. Scattered objects of the
New Race have, however, been found as far north as
XX ADDENDA
Minieh, and as far south as Kom Ombo. The type of
race is high, and shows no negro in it ; and they cannot
therefore have come from the south. As they utterly
dispossessed the Egyptians, and yet the dynasties were
continuous at Memphis, it shows that they cannot have
come up the Nile Valley. If they came from east or
west, the presumption would be in favour of the west,
as the type is closely like that of the Libyan and
Tahennu on later monuments. That the west was a
serious danger to Egypt at that age, we see from
Sanehat, who says that Amenemhat I. sent a great army
with the nobles to the land of the Temahu. And the
main region of the New Race is just opposite the
principal oases ; and their main posts, Abydos and
Gebelen, are at the ends of the desert roads to the
oases. Until our present materials are studied, and
fresh researches made, the probability seems to be that
the New Race were Libyans invading Egypt through
the oases.
Page 115. The coffin of Api'ankhu, a priest of the
pyramid of Ka'meryra, is in the Berlin Museum
(S.B.A. xiii. 524).
Page 119. Another scarab of Khyan is known
(H.P. Coll.).
Page 122. Another scarab has proved that the correct
reading is not Yapeqher but Yaqebher ; thus connecting
the name with the Syrian god Yaqeb (or Jacob), who is
otherwise known as Yaqeb-el in the list of Tahutmes
IIL, and Baal Akabos on an altar of the second century
A.D. The scarab is of the type of the last one of
Khyan in Fig. 74.
Page 148. After ** Hammamat," add: —
Dendera, blocks (Diimichen, Dendera, iii. f, iv. b).
Page 156. After Yi^io'^oViSy add: —
Lisht, twelve statues of Usertesen L, over life size, in
fine limestone, exquisitely sculptured, were found in
1895 (G. Mus.).
ADDENDA xxi
Page 176. M. de Morgan having lately published
the ** Fouilles k Dahchour," containing an admirable
account of his various discoveries there, we can now
add the names of the princesses Ment (p. 56) and
Meryt (p. 69), whose names are recorded on scarabS;
and correct queen Henut'taui to Nefert'hent. The
whole discovery of jewellery is so rich and varied that
it is useless to attempt to summarise it ; and no further
historical facts appear beyond what is already here
stated.
Page 184. A graffito of a priest named Khenemsa is
dated in this reign at Hammamat (Pr. M. vi. 8).
Page 190 (line 3), add ** dated in his 43rd year (Vyse,
Pyramids, iii. 94)."
Page 195 (line 2). Statue is from Memphis (B.R. 2).
Page 208. XIII. 13. Ra'fu'ab or Ra'au'AB. The
tomb of a king of this name was found in a pit on the
south of the south brick pyramid of Dahshur. (See
** Fouilles k Dahchour.") The tomb had been anciently
rifled, but the ka statue in wood and its shrine, portions
of the coffin, and the coffer of canopic jars remained,
together with many of the smaller objects. The
personal name of the king was HoR. The coffer of
canopic jars was still sealed up, and bore a clay im-
pression reading Ra'en'maat. A difference of opinion
naturally exists in dealing with such contradictory facts.
If the seal be held to prove that Amenemhat III. sealed
up the funeral objects, we then require to introduce
Hor into the Xllth dynasty, and place him as a co-
regent son of Amenemhat III., who died during his
father's reign. The difficulty lies in supposing that
such a person should altogether have escaped notice in
the many monuments of that king which we know. On
the other view, this king is the Ra'au'ab named in the
Turin papyrus, 13th king of the Xlllth dynasty ; but
the seal has to be accounted for. It has been proposed
that it was an old holy seal of the last great monarch
still used by the priests, but that is not necessary.
xxii ADDENDA
When wc consider how famous Amenemhat III. was,
by the greatness of his works and the length of his
reign, it would be very natural for later kings to take
his name. That they did so is obvious in the Xlllth
dynasty ; the 3rd king is Ra 'amen 'em 'hat, the 6th is
Ameny-Antef-Amenemhat, and two other kings took
the name of Amenemhat I. We know so little about
that age, that it is far easier to grant an unknown king
Ra*en*maat then, than to grant an unknown co-regent
in the Xllth dynasty. The style of the formulae, which
has been quoted as evidence, means nothing, as we do
not know that they differ from those of the Xlllth
dynasty. But the style of art — far more variable than
formulae— connects the wooden statue of Hor rather
with the graceful Sebek'hotep statues than with the
more massive work of Amenemhat III.
The intact burial of a princess, Nubt'hotep, with her
splendid jewellery, was found next to the tomb of Hor ;
but there is no evidence of her date.
Page 209. Probably in the Xlllth dynasty is a king
Ra'sekhem'men'taui, named Tahuti, who appears on
a slab from Zowaydeh, near Ballas, and also on a box
of queen Mentuhotep at Berlin.
Page 217. The standing colossi are probably of a
later age than the seated colossus, which alone bears
the name of Sebekhotep.
Page 225 (Fig. 137). This scarab is more probably
only a wish-scarab.
Page 247. A stele inscribed under Rahotep represents
a man named Ptah'seankh and two others offering to
Ptah. The work is very rude, and scarcely legible
(B. Mus.).
Page 250. As Mahler has concluded for a much
shorter period for the XVIIIth dynasty, and earlier
dates from Tahutmes III. onwards, than I have here
stated, it may be explained that for this result he relies
on the star diagrams in Ramesside tombs ; and does
not notice the Sirius festival of Merenptah. This re-
ADDENDA. xxiii
quires him to assume an impossibly short period for the
latter half of the XVIIIth dynasty ; and where Sirius
festivals contradict the result of star diagrams, the
festival seems the more reliable, for every person could
see if that were correct, while the star diagram was
understood by very few, and seen by fewer, so that an
old diag'ram might easily be copied in a later tomb.
A HISTORY OF EGYPT
CHAPTER I
Prehistoric Egypt
Within the period of human records Egypt has
changed but little, if at all, in its conditions of the sur-
face and the climate. The statements of writers show
this for the last two thousand years, and the subjects
and state of the monuments show the same for other
periods, back to the fourth dynasty. But, as in Europe,
the remains of man before letters reach into very different
conditions of land and of climate. Prehistoric man
having been so far but little noticed in Egypt, there is a
great field for additional research ; and we cannot yet
say to what geological period his advent must be
assigned. This leads us to sketch briefly what has
been observed as to the surface history of the Nile
Valley, subsequent to the geological deposits of the
rocks which form the basis of the land.
The floor of Egypt is the Eocene limestone, which
is found at many points around the Mediterranean ; but
the uniformity of the gaunt grey masses of the Tertiary
or Jurassic limestones, which are doubtless familiar to
most travellers in the moister climates of Gibraltar,
Marseilles, Malta, Athens, and in Palestine, is replaced
I— I
2
PREHISTORIC EGYPT
by a warm brown in Egypt, where lichens cannot hide
the surface, and where weathering" is so slight. This
limestone extends inward about five hundred miles from
the coast. South of that is the Nubian sandstone,
interrupted by the granite hills of Aswan.
At the close of the Eocene period this limestone
deposit was elevated, and formed a wide, low table-
land, over which ran the drainage of north-east Africa ;
hemmed in, as it is, by the mountains of the eastern
desert, from obtaining any discharge into the Red Sea.
Of this period there are remains in the thick beds of
coarse gravel and boulders, river-rolled, which crown
the present hills between the Fayum and the Nile, and
which must have been deposited before the present
valleys were worn in the tableland.
Fig. I.— Diagram of great fault forming Nile valley, looking north.
The next stage was a difference of level during the
Miocene period, caused by further elevation of the
eastern desert. This must have risen in all about a
thousand feet above sea level, and mostly opposite the
peninsula of Sinai. Then occurred the usual result of such
a change : a grand fracture took place (Fig. i), at least
two hundred miles long, from the old coast line up to
Asyut. Not only may this be seen by the geologist in
comparing the strata on opposite sides of the Nile,
which show a difference of 250 ft., but it is obvious
to every traveller that still the eastern desert is far
higher than the western, that while on the east the
ground rises into high mountains, on the west it falls
PREHISTORIC EGYPT 3
into deep hollows of the Oases and the Fayum, even as
much as two hundred feet below the Nile. The river,
which was already in this region, as the high gravels
show, fell into the cleft of this great fault (Fig. 2) ; and it
seems probable that the surface basalts of Khankah,
north of Cairo, are the result of the water reaching
the heated strata below, thus causing both a volcanic
Fig, 2. — Diagram of great fault, eroded into a gorge, fed by water -
tunnelled caverns in the cliffs.
eruption, and also the hot springs which silicified thci
sandstone of Jebel Ahmar, and the trees of the petrified
forests, all in this same region. For the geological
periods of the great changes see Professor Hull (in
Journal of Victoria Institute, 1890).
Some sinking of the land seems to have occurred, by
which the bottom of this gorge was brought under sea
level, and so became choked with debris (Fig. 3). There
Fig. 3. — Diagram of gorge filled with debris, forming present Nile bed.
is evidence that the gorge was two or three hundred feet
deeper than the present valley, as large caverns have
collapsed at some himdreds of feet below the present
PREHISTORIC EGYPT
Nile (Fig. 4), but it became choked before the side valleys
were cut very far. Then for a long period the land was
denuded, and the present side valleys were entirely cut
out, almost as we now see them. The climate was
during' all these as^es quite as moist as that of the
Mediterranean at present. The rainfall was heavy and
continuous, as shown by the severe denudation (Fig. 5) ;
and there can bo no doubt that the country was wooded,
PREHISTORIC EGYPT s
as in all other wet climates. The cause of the present
dryness of Egypt is that it is surrounded by higher
lands on all sides but the north, and the north wind
must become heated in blowing south, and cannot lose
any moisture. The only rain now precipitated is that
brought over the low land west of Egypt by cyclonic
action from the Mediterranean, and hence the curious
sight of heavy rains from the south-west, which is
entirely desert. On the south and east the higher
mountains drain the air of all the moisture it can part
with. From the full rainfall, which extended down almost
to historic times, it may be concluded that the western
desert was largely a bay of the Mediterranean until the
final elevation of the land to its present level.
The earliest trace of man yet known in Egypt is of
the period of a great submersion of the land in the
Pliocene or Pleistocene period, which followed on the
carving of its present surface. Deposits on the hills
show that the sea extended to at least five hundred
feet above the present level ; and to this age must be
attributed the river-worn flint of the usual palaeolithic
type, found high up on the hills behind Esneh (Fig. 6).
6 PREHISTORIC EGYPT
That this is really river-worn, and not polished by sand
action, is shown by the wear being no more on the
top surface — as it lay on the ground — than below.
On the contrary, the under side was the more worn,
owing to its being rather softer ; and it is impossible that
the wear occurred in the position where it was found.
The prominent .sign of this submergence may be
seen in the great foot-hills of debris which lie at the
lower side of the mouth of each valley ; from their
forms, their material, and their height, they must have
been deposited in fairly deep water. Worked flints
have also been found in the bedded detritus washed
out of the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings at Thebes.
This material must have been deposited under water ;
but as it is coarse, and not uniform, the water level had
probably receded from the full height, and was about
fifty or a hundred feet above the present, so that the
stream would have enough velocity in • the shallow
water to bear forward this gravel. Since the river
fell still lower, the occasional torrents have cut a bed
through the old detritus, and so exposed the flints.
As beds of Nile mud exist twenty or thirty feet above
the present high Nile, we learn that a dry climate had
set in (owing to the elevation and drying of the Libyan
Desert) before the land had quite risen to the present
extent. The deposit of mud by the Nile is the sign of
the flatter gradient of the lower part of its course, and
of the reduction of the volume of the stream (and its
consequent carrying power), owing to its evaporation
and absence of affluents.
The lowest level of the Nile appears to have been
shortly before the historical period. It was still falling
when the mud began to be deposited, and it continued
to fall until it was at least twenty feet lower than at
present. Since then it has gradually risen by the
silting up of the bed. From various concordant data
this appears to proceed at the rate of four inches a
century, or a metre in a thousand years. Hence in
six thousand years, which is about the historical period
in Egypt, the rise by deposits must have been twenty feet.
/ •'
PREHISTORIC EGYPT
The Delta was very different in appearance in the
early times. There are still many sandy rises in it ;
but these must have been far larger and more numerous,
before they were buried in twenty feet of deposits, and
before they were ploughed down by the wind, which
has removed probably an equal amount of their height.
The Nile then ran between desert hills of sand, in
valleys more or less wide ; now every part is nearly
reduced to a dead level. There has been some upheaval
of land at the Suez region, cutting off the sea com-
munication with the Bitter Lakes ; and, on the contrary,
some depression north of this, on the coast, flooding
Lake Menzaleh, which was a most fertile district at
the Arab conquest. -^f^
Beside the worked flints, whose position indicates
their age, large quantities of flint flakes and scrapers
are to be found lying about on the surface of the
desert. These must not be supposed to be prehistoric
in all cases, or perhaps in any case. Flints were used
side by side with copper tools from the fourth to the
twelfth dynasty (Medum and Kahun) (Fig. 7) ; they
were still used for sickles in the eighteenth dynasty.
(Tell el Amarna) ; and large quantities of flint flakes
lie mingled with Roman pottery ^t^H glass around the
tower south of El Heibi. Hence the undated sites
of flint flakes must be of small historical value. Large
quantities of worked flints, mostly small flakes,
sometimes chipped at the edge, have been found at
Helwan. Many occur at Gizeh, and at the back of
the Birket Qurun (P.K. 21, xvi.) and Medinet Mahdi
(B.A.G. 16 Nov. 1889) in the Fayum ; at Tell el
Amarna on the top of the desert plateau, where are
rudely chipped pebbles, which from their extreme*
weathering may be even palaeolithic ; on various parts
of the foot-hills along the Nile, at Abydos (B.A.G. 16
Nov. 1889), at Qurnah (J.A.I, iv. 215; A.Z. viii. 113),
at the south of Medinet Habu, and at El Kab (B.A.G.
16 Nov. 1889) are places where the ground is strewn
with flint flakes and imperfect tools. The finest
examples of flint working are the magnificent knives,
8 PREHISTORIC EGYPT
chipped with exquisite regularity, in a smooth horny
flint (see Brit. Mus., Prehistoric, Ashmolean, and
Anthrop. Mus, Oxford). These are found in tombs at
Abydos ; but all of them have been plundered by
natives, and no record exists of their age. They are
perhaps a priestly survival, for funeral purposes, of
the flint working of the Xllth dynasty, lasting perhaps
till the XVIIIth. The most distinct use of flints was
for sickles ; particular forms were made to fit the
curves of the sickle, and were notched to cut the
straw. Such flints can be recognised by the polish on
the saw edge, while the rest is dufl, or even retains
some of the cement by which it was fastened in the
wooden sickle-back.
Of other remains of prehistoric man no trace has
been found in Egypt. His dwellings would be upon,
PREHISTORIC EGYPT 9
or close to, the Nile soil ; and as now more than twenty
feet of deposits overlie the level of that age, it is hope-
less to search there for any traces of his works.
The Egyptians — like many other peoples — con-
structed a mythical period of gods to fill the blank
of prehistoric times. The series of names in the lists
was probably not arranged thus until a late age,
perhaps the XlXth dynasty. In early times there is
no sign of a definite and systematic chronology ; and
such a series of names and periods shows every sign of
artificiality. The list given by the Memphite school,
in the most complete form (L.K. I. Taf. iii.), is as
follows, with slightly different reckonings : —
Divine Dynasty I. 7 Gods.
.
Years.
Years.
Hephaistos=Ptafa .
9000
9000
Helios
= Ra .
992
1000
S5s
.— Shu .
700
700
Kronos
==Geb .
501
500
Osiris
= Asar .
433
450
Typhon
= Set .
359
350
Horos
= Har .
(100) 300
12,285
300
12,300
Divine Dyna
STY n. 9 Gods.
Years.
Years.
Ares
= Anhur
(92) 276
280
Anoubis
=Anpu .
(68) 204
200
Herakles
= Khonsu
(60) 180
180
Apollo
= Harbehdet ,
100
100
Ammon
=Amen .
120
120
Tithoes
= Tahuti
108
100
Sdsos
= Shu .
128
120
Zeus
= Amen Ra
80
100
(Four other Gods .
370)
I 196 1570
Mythical Dynasty HI. 30 Demi-gods.
(No names given, average 121 7) 3650 years.
Mythical Dynasty IV. 10 Kings.
10 Kings of This, 350 years.
to PREHISTORIC EGYPT
Here the numbers have been arranged by the difTerent
authors who have transmitted these lists, so as to bear
a relation to the Sothis period of 1460 years. Thus
12,300+ 1570= 13, 870 = 9^ Sothis periods; or 12,285 +
S58 (another version of Dyn. II. ) = 13,143 = 9 Sothis
periods ; 3650 = 2^ Sothis periods, or 30 Sothis months
for 30 demi-gods : this evidently artificial arrangement
shows nothing but the uncritical ingenuity of the
_ writers. The Heli-
opolitan origin of
the series of gods
has been treated
by Maspero
(S.B.A. xii. 4.9),
who regards the
numbers as of
months instead of
years.
The one point
of importance, as
a tradition, is that
ten kings are said
to reign at This
(near Abydos) be-
fore the founda-
tion of the regular
monarchy. An-
other tradition
which may have a
basis is that of the
followers of Horus
(Har-se-ast), the
. r „ Shemsu-har, and
the followers of Har-behdet, the Mesniu (Maspero in
A. 1891). These probably embody the same idea, that
a ruler was accompanied by a body of servants or
followers. But in the Turin papyrus the Shemsu-har
are entered as rulmg for 13,420 years (or a trifle more
which IS lost) ; and this shows that they are regarded
there as a long successive series of rulers.
PREHISTORIC EGYPT n
Here, before considering the dynasties, we may
briefly consider the question of race. That two or
three different races occupied
the country in the earliest
historic times, is probable.
The diversity of features on
the earliest monuments, the
presence of the aquihne race
(such as Khafra) (Fig. 8) ; of
the snouty race (often drawn
for the tower classes) (Fig, 9),
and of the large-eyed race (as
Mertitefs) (Fig. 10) is irrecon- Fio. 9.-Snouiy lype. (aMus.)
citable with a single source
for llie people. The difference of burial customs in the
earliest interments points to a diversity of t>eliefs, again
showing more than one race. We have then probably
la PREHISTORIC EGYPT
ail indigenous race and an invading race ; or perhaps
even two invading races in succession, the large-eyed
race preceding the aquiline.
Whence then came the invading race— the high caste
race— who founded the dynastic history? The ancient
writers consider them as Ethiopians, i.e. that they came
from the south ; and certainly in no other quarter,
Libyan, Syrian, or Anatolian, can we find an
Fig. II.— Men of Ihe land of Pun.
analogous people. But Ethiopian was always a wide
term, and may cover many different races. On looking
to the Egyptian representatives of the varioQs races
known to them, we see but one resembling the Egyptian
high class race. The people of Pfln (Fig. ii), so
admirably sculptured on the temple of Hatshepsut,
are very closely like the high Egyptians. Further, the
Egyptians called Pfln "the land of the gods"; and
they do not appear to have made war on the Panite
PREHISTORIC EGYPT 13
race, but only to have had a peaceful intercourse of
embassies and commerce. It appears that Pon, or
Font, was a district at the south end of the Red Sea,
which probably embraced both the African and Arabian
shores. The name is connected with the Pceni, or
Phoenicians, who appear to be a branch of that race.
The Egyptians may then be another branch of the
Ponite race, and their earliest immigration into Egypt
confirms this. Before Menes comes a dynasty of kings
of This, and Menes is the Thinite who led his people
to a new capital at Memphis^ If the invading race had
come in from the north, or from Suez, Memphis would
have been naturally reached first, and their establish-
ment so high up as This would be less likely. But
the monarchy starting at This, in the middle of Egypt,'
points to the race having come into Egypt by the
Koser road from the Red Sea. They must further have
come from the middle or south end of the Red Sea;
as, if they were from the north end, they would have
entered at Memphis. The first settlement being at
This points then to an origin in the southern half of
the Red Seat That this, on the African side, was*
what was intended by the Ethiopia of the classics, is
suggested by the classical record of the gods dwelling
with the blameless Ethiopians, which is the Egyptian
idea of the ** land of the gods," that is, the land of
Pon.
So far we have dealt with the probabilities of the
case on the well-known facts ; but a crucial test of
these views was made by clearing out the temple of
Koptos in search of any prehistoric remains. I there
found portions of three colossal statues of Min, all of
very rude work, but showing a gradation of skill.
Upon each statue are some surface sculpturings, one
of which is here reproduced (Fig. 12). Not only are
these statues (which are of an earlier style than
any yet known) found where we presume that the
earliest settlers entered the Nile valley, but these statues
bear the figures of the shells {Pieroceras)^ sawfish,
ostrich, .and elephant, which all ajgree to these im-
14 PREHISTORIC EGYPT
migrants having come from the Red Sea, and rather
from the south than the north. The symbols show
apparently the fetish pole of
Min decorated with afeather
and garland of flowers, and
hung about with sawfish
and shells, like a. modern
dermish pole. The long
period required for three
varying statues, the differ-
ence of attitude from the
historical statues of Min, the
hieroglyph of Min shown to
be originally the garland on
a pole, and the style of the
work, all point to these
sculptures being of the pre-
historic age, and not due
to any later irruption of a
barbarous tribe.
If, then, we accept the
probability of the dynastic
Egyptians having come
from Pon, they would have
been a kindred race to the
Phoenicians, or Pon race,
whose farthest and latest great colony, in the Medi-
terranean, *was known as Punic. And we see the sense
of the kinship stated in the tenth chapter of Genesis
between Misraim (Egypt), Caphtorim {Keft-ur = greater
Phoenicia, on the Delta coast), and Philistim (or the
Phoenicians in Syria). As we have seen it probable
that the dynastic Egyptians reached the Nile valley by
Koser, so the reputed Phoenician settlement at Koptos
— the town of the Keft, or Phcenicians — may show the
continuance of this immigration, or even perhaps the
memory of the first place reached on the Nile by
the invaders, as Koptos was the early terminus of the
Koser road. The racial portraits lend force to this
Philistine (Fig. 13) kinship of the Egyptians, as the
PREHISTORIC EGYPT 15
resemblance in features shows that they may well be of
the same race.
So far, then, as we can yet gather, it appears as if the
Phcenidan races, who are at present generally supposed
to have had their first home on the Persian Gulf, had
thence settled in South Arabia and Somali land ; and
then, freshly swarming still farther round the Arabian
coast, they passed up the Red Sea, crossed the desert
into Egypt, followed by fresh swarms which went still
Habu).
farther round the coast up into Palestine, and colonised
Phcenicia and Philistia ; yet farther they pressed on
along the African coast, and settled in Carthage, and
lastly in Spain. In all their historic period they were a
coast people travelling westward, and their prehistoric
wandering seems to have been of the same nature,
following the lines of water communication by sea or
i6 THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
CHAPTER II
The First Three Dynasties
The great founder of the Egyptian monarchy is always
reputed to be Menes. In all the classical accounts,
in the Turin papyrus, in the list on the temple ojf
Abydos, Mena is always the starting-point of history.
But this does not in the least imply that contem-
porary records begin with Mena, or the first dynasty ;
any more than such records begin in Greece at 776
B.C., because that is the first Olympiad, or begin in
Rome at 753 B.C., because that is the date of its
foundation.
The first three dynasties are a blank, so far as monu-
ments are concerned ; they are as purely on a literary
basis as the kings of Rome or the primeval kings of
Ireland. And a people who could put into regular
chronologic order, as rulers of the land, the lists of
their gods, were quite capable of arranging human
names as freely and as neatly.
On what, then, do these first three dynasties, and
their lists of twenty-six kings, really rest? How far
do they embody history ? These are the first questions
before us.
The authority for the dynastic lists is twofold :
classical writings, more or less corrupted by will and
by chance ; and the papyri and monuments. The
classical authority for these lists is all derived from
various copyists and extractors who worked on the great
Ptolemaic compilation of Manetho. The monumental
\
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES 17
lists are four : (i) The table of kings (Fig. 14) adored by
Sety I, and Ramessu II. in the temple of Abydos, and
a duplicate of a portion of it from the smaller temple of
Abydos by Ramessu II. (now in the British Museum) ;
(2) the list of the tomb of Thunury at Sakkara (now in
IAa:i£g3BBIBa-«ihW4Kk-JWyi!g£^¥(3W
List of kings on ilie Table of Abydos,
Sely I., XlXlh dynasty.
asty. B— C IVth-VIih dynast)
the Ghizeh Museum) ; (3) the Turin papyrus (Fig. 15), a
list of kings, now in a terribly mutilated and fragmentary
state, — all of these agree in the order of the kings ; (4)
the list of the temple of Tahutmes III. at Karnak (now
in Bib. Nat., Paris), which shows hardly any order.
i8
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
Many short lists exist, of one or two dynasties of his-
toric times ; but the above great lists are the only
authorities for the early period.
What is the value of these lists? They all agree
very closely, excepting the last ; and stress has been
laid on this agreement as being something which
Fig. 15. — Portion of the Turin papyrus, showing three kings of the
Xlllth, and the beginning of the XlVth dynasty.
proves their value ; also it has been truly said that,
so far as the monuments go, they corroborate these
lists, and show no discrepancies. But the monu-
ments tell us nothing of the first three dynasties ;
they therefore cannot corroborate that portion of the
lists.
Now all these lists except that of Tahutmes III. —
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES 19
come from one period, the reigns of Sety I. and his son
Ramessu II. The tomb of Thunury is but an excerpt
of the list of Abydos, the Turin papyrus is only another
edition of the same age, and Manetho's work was
doubtless compiled from papyri no older than this
(more than a thousand years before him), and probably
from documents much more near his time. There is,
then, no authority for these lists of the first three
dynasties, earlier than the XlXth dynasty ; that is to
say, the lists are of an age as long after the kings
they record, as we are after these lists of the XlXth
dynasty.
Were these lists actually compiled, then, in the XlXth
dynasty, or are they copies of earlier historical works ?
Doubtless historical lists were incorporated with them ;
but when we look at the earlier list of Tahutmes III.
at Karnak, it appears as if no such state history had
existed when that was carved. The designer has had no
regular material to work from ; fragmentary statements
and half-remembered names seem to be all that was
available for making a national monument in the XVIIIth
dynasty. The same conclusion is indicated by all our
copies of the lists being of one age : the two lists of
Abydos, the list of Sakkara, and the Turin papyrus all
belong to the same time, and indicate a special taste and
fashion for the subject at that epoch. These results, then,
— the absence of all early examples of this recension, —
the confusion of the list of Tahutmes III., — and the exact
agreement of all four lists, that appear together under
Sety I., — indicate to us that it was Sety I. who ordered
the compilation of a national or state history, and that
before his time no such regular record was to be had.
We cannot, then, regard the first three dynasties as
anything but a series of statements made by a state
chronographer, about three thousand years after date,
concerning a period of which he had no contemporary
material.
What material, then, lies behind these lists? The
short allusions to events during the various reigns are
of a brief and traditional cast: plagues and earthquakes;
20
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
the beginnings of the literature, religion, laws, and archi-
tecture ; and marvels, as the sweetness of the Nile, and
an increase of the moon. Of the sources of such
notes we see somewhat in the Westcar papyrus,
written in the Xllth dynasty, or earlier, and embody-
ing the traditional tales about the early kings — tales
of magic and a tale explaining the origin of the dynasty
of Ra. This is probably a sample of the material
out of which the lists of early kings were constructed.
We shall deal with these materials in detail, after
the lists of kings ; but it is best to treat of each
of the sources of information separately, as each
class stands or falls, as a whole, according to its
general character of trustworthiness.
In the following table, under '* Manetho," is given
the best reading that can be selected from the varying
texts ; under ** Lists " are given the various readings of
the lists marked as A, Abydos, T, Turin Papyrus, S.
Sakkara (Thunury) ; under ** Monuments" are given
the names found in monuments and papyri, probably
none contemporary ; under ** Years" are the numbers
given by Africanus in his edition of Manetho in the third
century a.d., which is the only complete copy of the
lengths of the reigns : —
Manetho.
Lists.
1st Dynasty
(about 4777-45M
B.C.).
I
Menes . . .
Mcna A, Mena T,
2
Athothis . .
TetsiA. A T,
3
Kenkenes .
Ateth A.
4
Uenenfes
Ata.A a T.
5
Usafais . . .
Hesepti A. T.
6
Miebis . . .
Mer'bap A, Mer..
Merba'pcn S.
7
Semempses
Sem'en'ptah A.
8
Bienekhes , .
Kebh A. Kebhu 5.
pen 7".
.bh r.
Monu-
ments.
Mcnai.
Hesepti
Yeaks.
62
57
31
23
20
26
18
26
263
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
21
Manbtho.
Lists.
IInd Dynasty
(about 4514-4212
B.C.).
I
Boethos . .
Be-za-u A, Neterbau S.
2
Kaiechds . .
Ka-ka'u -^. 5*. ....ka.. T.
3
Bindthris . .
Ba'neter'n A. S. ..neter'n T.
4
Tlas ....
Uaznes A, S.
1
5
Sethenes . .
Senda A, Send S. 7".
6
Khair€s . . .
7
Neferkheres .
Neferkara S, Neferka... T.
m
8
Sesdkhris . .
Sekemeferka S. T.
9
Kheneres . .
IIIrd Dynasty
(about 4212-3998
B.C.X
Zcfa... S. Hezefa..p T,
Zazai A. Beby S. Zaza T.
I
Nekherofes
Nebka A. T. (Neb'kaTa S.)
2
Tosorthros
3
Tyreis . . .
Zeser'sa A. Zeser S.
Zesera.. T.
4
Mesokhris . .
5
SSufis . . .
6
Tosertasis .
Teta^. Zcscrteta^*. Zcscrti T.
7
Akhes . . .
(Neb-ka-ra S.)
8
Sefuris . . .
Sezes A.
9
Kerferes . .
Nefer-kaTa^. Heni 5.
MONU
MBNTS
Send.
Neb'ka.
Zeser.
Hcni.
Years.
38
39
47
17
41
17
25
48
30
302
28
29
7
17
16
19
42
30
26
214
There is some uncertainty about the adjustment of
the lists of Manetho and Abydos, etc., between Ne-
ferkheres (II. 7) and Tosertasis (III. 6). They are
otherwise arranged with Nekherofes to Zazai, or to
Sekerneferka. The list of Sakkara places Neb*ka*ra
after Zeserteta ; but from the other lists he is probably
the same as Nebka, Nekherofes. The tales of the
Westcar Papyrus gives the order of kings as Zeser,
Nebka, Sneferu, Khufu; and in the Prisse papyrus,
Heni is the predecessor of Sneferu. These agree better
to the arrangement of the Sakkara table.
22 THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
The fragments of history embodied in the lists are of
much value, as showing the kind of tales current about
these kings ; and whatever credit we may give to the
lists, the statements are at least a tradition of facts.
I. I. Menes is the **Thinite," who — coming from
the previous Thinite dynasty — founded Memphis, ajc-
cording to Herodotus and Josephus. His successors ol
this dynasty are stated to be his sons ; and the state-
ment of the establishment of female succession under
Binothris (II. 3) agrees with this detail being noted.
I. 2. Athothis is said to have built at Memphis ; and to
have written medical works, perhaps a conclusion from
his namejDeing confounded with Thoth by the Greeks.
I. 4. Uenefes was troubled with a great plague
throughout Egypt, and he is said to have built the
pyramids near Kokhome. This statement has been
often quoted as referring to the step pyramid of
Sakkara, Kokhome being referred to Ka kern, **the
black bull," the name of a district of Sakkara (B.G. 836).
There is also another site that is possible for this
name : it may as well be read **the village of Ko," in
which sense it is taken in the Armenian version. The
modern town of Qau was named Quu in demotic, and
Koou in Coptic, and it might therefore well be written
as Kokhome. This neighbourhood should be carefully
searched, as it is not an unlikely district for the early
kings, between Abydos and Asyut.
I. 7. Semempses is noted as having many wonders
in his reign, and a great pestilence.
II. I. Boethos begins the second dynasty. In his
reign a chasm opened near Bubastis, and many persons
perished. This is near the region of plutonic action, at
Abu Zabel, and the statement has therefore probably a
solid basis.
II. 2. Kaiechos established the worship of the sacred
bulls, Apis in Memphis, and Mnevis in Heliopolis, and
the sacred goat (or rather ram) at Mendes. His name,
which may be ** Bull of bulls," obviously points to this
worship, which perhaps was attributed to him after-
wards on the ground of this very name.
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES 23
II. 3. Binothris established the lawfulness of female
succession to the throne.
II. 7. Neferkheres is said to have had the Nile
flowing- with honey for eleven days in his reign.
II. 8. Sesokhris is- noted for his height of 5 cubits
3 palms, or slightly over 8 feet.
III. I. Nekherofes brought in the third dynasty, and
under him the Libyans revolted, but submitted through
frig-ht at an increase of the moon, apparently after an
eclipse.
III. 2. Tosorthros was a great physician, and built a
house of hewn stones, and forwarded literature.
Such are the fragmentary tales embodied by Manetho
and copied by his abbreviators. We can learn but little
from them ; but it is noticeable that sacred animals
are not supposed to have been worshipped in the first
dynasty, and buildings were probably of wood until the
third dynasty, when a house of hewn stone is specially
noted. This may be the age of the transference from
modelling in clay (found at Koptos) to carving in stone.
On the monuments we have but few traces of all these
kings. The priesthoods of the deceased kings are about
the only source of their names in stone.
Of Mena there is a priest Senb'f of the XXVIth
dynasty (see L.D. iii. 276 b); also another, Un'nefer,
of Ptolemaic time (Serapeum stele, 328).
Of Teta there is the same priest.
Of Send there is the priest Shera or Shery, whose
tomb is now dispersed to Oxford, Florence, and Ghizeh.
Also Aasen and Ankef, priests on a stele (Aix, Provence,
S.B.A. ix. 180). Also a bronze statue made in the
XXVIth dynasty (Berlin).
Of Perabsen, the same priest Shera. This king is quite
unknown otherwise, but is probably of an early date.
Of Nebka, a priest whose tomb is at Abusir (Berlin).
Of Zeser, a statue of Usertesen II. adoring him
(Berlin), and a priest of his, Senb'f, in the XXVIth
dynasty (see L.D. iii. 276 c). And a chief of workmen,
Khnum'ab'ra, of the Persian period (L.D. iii. 275 a),
begins a genealogy from the time of king Zeser.
24 THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
There are also many late priesthoods of succeeding
historical kings. The priest therefore was by no means
necessarily of the same period as the king. The tomb
of Shera has been taken to belong to the Ilnd dynasty,
solely because he is priest of a king of that time.
Doubtless it is a very old tomb, but its style scarcely
differs in any way from that of the tombs of Medum,
and it probably belongs to the end of the third, or
beginning of the fourth dynasty.
In the papyri mention is made of several early kings,
usually in attributing the discovery or composition of
the document to their time ; but as none of these
papyri are earlier than the Xllth dynasty, the evidence
is worth very little.
Teta is mentioned in Medical papyrus, Ebers ; but it
may be the king of the Vlth dynasty.
Hesepti is in the Medical papyrus, Berlin. The 64th
or 130th chapter of the Book of the Dead is said to
have been discovered in his time.
Send is named in the Medical papyrus, Berlin.
Nebka is the king of a tale in the Westcar papyrus.
Nebka'n'ra (possibly the same) is the king of the
tale of the Sekhti, which would rather place him in the
IXth or Xth dynasty.
Zeser is the king of another tale in the Westcar papy-
rus, and a rubric begins his titles in the Turin papyrus.
Heni is in the Prisse papyrus, next before Sneferu,
and is supposed to be the same as Nefer'ka'ra, but of
this the sequence is the only evidence.
Of scarabs and small objects there is no trace until we
reach the end of the third dynasty. Those with the name
of Mena (Fig. 16) (scarabs
Ra mena, Ra menas,
Menas) are certainly of
a date long subsequent
to the king's reign, as
^ , ^ ^ r»^ well as earrings and neck-
FiG. i6. — Late Scarabs of Mena. , .., ^ r xyr
lace with name of Mena
(in Abbott Coll. New York). There are reputed objects
of Sem'en'ptah, but there is nothing to prove their
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
ag« being before the historic times, and they may
belong to any high priest (sem) of Ptah. Not until we
reach Nebka of the third dynasty can any scarabs be
supposed to be contemporary. There are two of Neb
t6 THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
ka, and seven of Nebka'r;
this age. Lastly, there i
may well be of the last king of the llird dynasty.
Of actual monuments that may be attributed to
an age before the IVth dynasty there are but few.
The step pyramid of Sakkara (Fig. 17) contained
a doorway of glazed tiles {now at Berlin), which have
been supposed to give the titles of an early king.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^a From a tablet of the
^^^^^^^^^^^l^^^^^l Serapeum Mus.),
^^^^^^^^^^n ^^^^^1 seem
^^^^^^^^^^V ^^^^H are the
^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^l the only
^ ^^^^^^^^Hfl^^^^l show bulls were
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H pyramid.
^^^^PH^^^^^^^H On the other the ka
■ .^^^^V V ( I ^^^^^H name, ihe neter, has been
^^^^K ^ jyL ^^^^^H found apparently on the
: ^^^^^^ 1 ^H ^^^^^P near the
.' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 namcsofthelVth dynasty,
\ ^^^^^^H^^^A^^^I show
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H to be the name of an early
^^^^^^^.^ k;ng(Rec.xvi. 104); and
' ^^^^^^^^^^ V the late tablet of Sehel
^^^^^^^^^^^^^T m ^^ giving ka name to
^^^^^^^^^^^V * ^H king Zeser. We shall con-
^^^^^^^^^Bf " ^ sider this pyramid further,
^^^^^^^^^K- - Sneferu.
1^^^^^^^^^^ Of lesser remains there
■"^ — ' is the very primitive
FiQ. iB.-GrajiJw «atm>, Memphis. ^^^^^^ ^^^ Memphis,
{Ghizeh 6161), with ka
namesof kings on the shoulders, Neter'n, Ra-neb, and
Hotep'ankh'menkh, all as yet unknown {Fig, 18) ;
the tombs of Mery in the Louvre, of Seker'kha'bau at
Ghizeh, and of Akhefhotep at Sakkara; the wooden
panels of Hesy at Ghizeh (Figs. 19, 20), and the statues
of Sepa and Ra'sankh in the Louvre, which all show
signs of a greater age than the works of Sneferu.
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES i^
How, then, do these actual remains accord with the
state history drawn up in the lists. We are asked to
believe that twenty-seven kings reigned during a space
of 779 years, and yet we cannot find more than half a
dozen tombs that can be attributed to this long period ;
while ten or twenty times this number could be
assigned at once to either of the succeeding dynasties,
Wc have no right to assume that there perished a larger
proportion of tombs belonging to one period than to
Fic. 19.— Wooden panels of Hesy (G. Mus.),
another. If we cannot find a fiftieth of the proportion
of tombs before the IVth dynasty that we find so soon as
dated monuments arise, the inference is that there never
existed any much greater number, and that therefore
they should be attributed to a far shorter time. If we
consider that actual remains begin with the middle of
the third dynasty, we have a far more consistent result.
a8 THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES
Another criterion also comes in. At Medum in the
beginning of the IVth dynasty there were two entirely
different customs of sepulture, indicating different
beliefs and ideas. Yet in other cemeteries later on
in the various succeeding dynasties such differences
are not observed. Are we to believe that the dynastic
Egyptians had been 800 years in contact with the
Hesy.
aborigines without a change of customs or a mixture
of races, and that the change then came about suddenly
in one or two centuries ? This at least is improbable.
Without wishing to dogmatise, we may say that the
conclusion that seems at present most probable from
the scanty inferences we can draw is as follows :—
For a few centuries before the IVth dynasty (or from
about 4500 B.C.) the dynastic Egyptians had been filter-
THE FIRST THREE DYNASTIES 29
ing- into the Nile valley through the Koser road ; they
had early pushed down to Memphis and got a footing
there. Various rulers had arisen in different districts,
who were remembered mainly by tradition. About a
century before the IVth dynasty, they consolidated
their power ; tools of copper were introduced, workmen
were organised, and they began to use stone archi-
tecture, which was a novelty, all previous work having
been in wood. The traditional tales about these kings
were written down as popular stories, such as the
Westcar papyrus. Lastly, in the XlXth dynasty these
floating tales and traditional accounts were collected,
and a continuous list of kings made out from them, all
in consecutive order.
30
SNEFERU
[dyn vr. I
3
4
5
6
7
8
Manbtho
Soris
Safis
Sufis
Menkheres
Rhatoises
Bikheris
Seberkheres
Thamfthis
CHAPTER III
The Fourth Dynasty
Lists.
Sneferu
Khufu
Kha'fra
Men'kau'ra
Ra'ded'f
Shepses'ka'f
Sebek'ka'ra
Monuments.
Years.
Sneferu
29
Khufu
63
Kha-fra
66
Menkaura
63
Radedf
25
Shepses'ka'f
22
• • •
7
Aimhetep
9
277, actually
284
B.C. about
3998
3969
3908
384s
3784
3759
3737
3730
3721
In this list the order of Manetho is followed ; but it
does not always accord with that of the monumental
lists. At Abydos Ra'ded'f is placed between Khufu and
Khafra, but this is unlikely from the succession stated
on the statue of Mertitefs. In the list of Sakkara,
Sebek*ka*ra is placed between the end of the Vlth or
Vllth dynasty, and the end of the inverted Xllth
dynasty. As there is not another instance of the
names Seberkheres or Sebek*ka*ra in any place, it
seems possible that the designer of the Sakkara list in
B.C SOOS-SQ^Q-l
SNEFERU
3»
his evident confusion (inverting a dynasty) brought in
Sebek'ka'ra in the place of Sebek'neferu, who should
hold that position at the end of the Xllth dynasty next
to Amenemhat IV. The name Aimhetep is reasonably
an origin for the form Thamfthis of Manetho ; but his
inscription in Wady Hammamat (L.D. ii. 115 h) does
not perhaps seem so early as the end of the IVth
dynasty : his name may therefore have been accidentally
transferred from the end of the Vth to the end of the
IVth dynasty, by Manetho or a copyist. The list of
Abydos is more complete than that of Sakkara, which
only gives the kings i, 2, 3, and 5. No names remain in
the Turin papyrus ; for the numbers of frag. 32, usually
set to this dynasty, have no connection with it ; not a
single reign corresponds with Manetho, and a name
ending in . . . zefa shows it rather to belong to the
XI Vth dynasty.
IV. I. Sneferu
about 3998-
3969 B.C.
Temple and pyramid, Kha^ at Medum
■ (P.M. 5-11).
Rock Tablet, Sinai (L.D. ii. 2 a).
Granite dish, Erment (Wiedemann
Coll.).
Diorite Bowl (Ghizeh Museum).
Vase lid (Ghizeh Museum),
(Mertitefs ; statue (Leyden
Mus.).
Merisankh ? ; pyramid, Medum.
Daughter, Nefert'kau ; tomb of Sne-
fru 'khaf (Ghizeh).
Fig. 21. — Vase lid of
Sneferu (G. Mus.).
With the reign of Sneferu we reach firm ground
historically, his own monuments and those of his
subjects being well known. The royal domains seem
to have lain about forty miles south of Cairo, at
Medum, as the pyramid is there, and near there was
the town Ded-Sneferu. The pyramid of Medum has
been the subject of strange suppositions, — that it was
a rock cut into shape, that it had no passages, that it
was externally a step pyramid, etc. The tombs near it
have been assigned to the Xllth dynasty, in spite of the
most obvious resemblances to the earliest work of the
IVth dynasty. Recent researches have cleared away
such speculations (P.M. 5-11).
The primitive form of the sepulchre of Sneferu was
a square mastaba (Fig. 22), that is, a mass of masonry,
flat-topped, with sides slanting inward at about 75° or
FiC. aj.— Section of pyramid of Medi
I in 4. The entrance was in the lower part of the
north face. To enlarge this tomb a coating of masonry
was put over it, as was often done in brick to the
tombs of this age. The original mass was also carried
upward, and thus a step resulted on the outside. This
same process was repeated seven times, resulting in a
compound pile, of which the top surface of each coat
formed a great step on the outside. The outline thus
became pyramidal, and the last process was to add
B.C. 3998-39^*]
SNEFERU
33
Fig. 23. — Pyramid angle, 14 on 11 ;
mastaba angle, 4 on i.
one smooth casing in one slope from base to top, and
so carry it up to a point at the pyramid angle 14
on II (Fig. 23). Two of the casings having been
partly removed for stones,
have left the mass
inside of them standing
up in a towering form.
This is the earliest
pyramid known, as the
step pyramid of Sakkara
is not a true pyramid,
but a mastaba which was
repeatedly enlarged ; and
was never coated over in
one slope ; thus it was
never finished into a
pyramid like that of
Medum.
The successive enlargements of the pyramid of
Medum have led to a theory being started, that all
pyramids were similarly enlarged by coats during the
kings' lives ; but no other pyramid has this peculiarity.
That of Menkaura at Ghizeh has once been enlarged be-
fore it was finished, but no such system of building was
followed, and in several cases the details of arrangement
prove that the full size was planned from the first.
The interior of the Medum pyramid is reached by
a long passage sloping down from the north face ;
in the rock under the centre it runs horizontal for a
short way, and then turns upward as a vertical shaft,
opening into the floor of the sepulchral chamber. This
chamber is built on the surface of the rock, and is
roofed by nine overlapping courses of stone. In the
chamber, and the passage beneath it, were found pieces
of the wooden coffin and a wooden jar, all broken and
wrenched into splinters (F.P. Coll.). The wooden
beams supporting the shaft lining are still sound and
firm, being saturated with salt from the rock.
Outside of the pyramid, against the middle of the
eastern face of the casing, was built a courtyard and
1—3
^\
1 34
chambers, forming a small tempie. In this courtyard
stood an altar for offerings, between two tall steles,
witheut any inscription. On the temple walls were
graffiti dating from the old kingdom to the XVIIlth
dynasty ; five of these mention Sneferu as the king to
whom this pyramid was attributed. And the styles
of the pyramid, the temple, and the tombs are in every
respect distinctly more archaic than the works of any
later period, so that there is no possible ground to
throw doubt on this repeated testimony. The temple
'"■ no stone is used but
limestone, and there
is not the slightest
ornament or decora-
tion in any part of it.
The walls were built
in the rough, and
trimmed down after-
wards. A peribolus
wall enclosed the
pyramid and temple ;
the entrance to it
was on the east side,
leadingto the temple;
and the approach to
it was by a causeway,
walled on either hand, leading up from the plain.
It appears that Sneferu had two pyramids; at
Dahshur is the tomb of certain keepers of his pyramids ;
Dua-ra, keeper of the two pyramids named K/ia ; and
also Ankh-ma'ra, keeper of the two kka pyramids of
Sneferu (M.A.F. i. igo), one being distinguished as the
south Ma pyramid.
The worship of Sneferu was maintained constantly.
His priests and adorers were : —
Mclhen Early IVth dyn. Tomb, Abusir (Berlin, L.D. il. 5)
Dcp-emankh V(h ,, Tomb, Sakkara {M.M. 198)
Thentha . Vth? ,, Tomb, Dahshur(M.A.F. i. 191)
Dudu , . XITIlh .. Dedication on base (M.A. 587)
XVIIlth ,, Stele, Leyden
Ankli hapl . PtoL Coffin, Louvre (B.T. 1:56)
B.C. 3998-3969.1 SNEFERU 35
The only great royal inscription is that of the tablet
in Sinai. It is headed by a cartouche containing the
whole of the royal titles and name : the order of which
differ remarkably from later usages, reading **(The
King of Egypt, lord of the vulture and uraeus. Neb
maat^ the Golden Horus, Sneferu). The Horus Neb
maat {ka name) Sneferu, great god, giving all power,
stability, life, health, expansion of heart, for ever.
Subduing the countries." The king is seizing on a
Bedawi (marked by his thin, narrow beard), and pre-
paring to smite him with a mace. A scarab of Sneferu
in lazuli (M. Coll.) is probably of the XXVth dynasty,
from the material and style.
Although it is doubtful if Khufu was the son of
Sneferu (and De Rougd has remarked that none of the
early kings appear to be sons of their predecessors),
yet the family of Sneferu continued to the fourth gene-
ration. At Gizeh, on the hill-edge south-east of the
pyramid of Khufu, is a tomb of Sneferu "khaf, whose
father, Nefer*maat, was son of Nefertkau, the daughter
of Sneferu. A queen of Sneferu was named Mertitefs ;
her statue is at Leyden, and a tablet of hers was found
at Gizeh (M.M. 565). The type of face is very curious
(see Fig. 10), belonging to a very marked race, to which
may also be referred two early statuettes at Gizeh, and
the scribe of the Louvre. Thus a royal wife might be
of the inferior race, and not of the high type. Her
inscription helps in determining the succession, as she
was a favourite of Sneferu and of Khufu, and attached
to Khafra in her old age. Hence there is no room for
Radadef between these kings ; and he must have been
either a co-regent or a successor. Another queen is
named, apparently as a wife of Sneferu, at Medum in
a temple graffito of the XVIIIth dynasty (P.M. 40).
Her name, Meri's'ankh, is usually attributed to a queen
of Khafra ; but it is only stated as the name of a royal
wife in the tomb of her son, the Prince Neb'em'akhet
(Gizeh). If she were a wife of Sneferu in the end of
his reign, her son might not be older than the reign
of Khufu, and in his old age might therefore easily
36 SNEFERU [dvn. iv. i.
engrave in his tomb farm names compounded with the
name of Khafra, which are the only indication of date
in it. Thus it would not be at all impossible for her
to be the wife of Sneferu. Or, again, she might have
passed on to the harem of Khufu, as did Mertitefs, and
her son Neb'em'akhet may not have been born till
twenty years of the reign of Khufu had passed. There
is therefore no sufficient reason to deny the accuracy of
this statement of the XVIIIth dynasty graffito.
The private tombs of Medum probably belong to this
reign. The principal persons buried there were two royal
sons, Rahotep, with his wife Nefert, and Nefermaat,
with his wife Atet. Though entitled royal sons, they
may not have been the immediate sons of Sneferu, but
only descendants of some king. The only absolute sign
of the age is in the name of a farm of Nefermaat, which
is called Menat-Sneferu ; but the whole style of these
tombs is most closely related to the tomb of Methen (at
Berlin), and the tomb of Merab (at Berlin), which are
both undoubtedly of the beginning of the I Vth dynasty.
Rahotep and Nefert are well known from their in-
comparable statues in the Ghizeh Museum (Fig. 25).
These statues are most expressive, and stand in their
vitality superior to the works of any later age in Egypt.
They were found in the tomb chamber, which — in-
violate when discovered in 1871 — is now much injured.
The sculptures on the walls are quite worthy of a place
by the side of the statues. The scenes (P.M. ix.-xiv.)
are drawn with more vivacity and expression than in
any tombs of succeeding dynasties. The tomb of
Nefermaat (P.M. xvi.-xxvii.) is peculiar for a special
experiment of his own ; all the hieroglyphs and figures
are deeply incised, and filled with coloured pastes,
secured in place by undercutting and keying carved
in the hollows. The details of faces were worked in
the colours. The inlaying, however, is soft, and
soon perishes by exposure, and by salt efflorescence.
The drawing is very good, but lacks the expression of
detail in the faces which are so finely rendered in the
reliefs of Rahotep. The signs carved in these tombs
SNEFERU
are nmong the earliest known ; and they are of great
value as pointing to the origin of the hieroglyphs, and
to the state of civilisation in which they were adopted.
The advanced state of architecture shown in the forms
figured there is very remarkable ; but it appears to be
mainly taken from wooden forms, and illustrates the
lateness of the adoption of stone building.
The cemetery of Mcdum has also provided many
examples of a different mode of burial from that of the
well-known Egyptian method. Instead of full-length
burial, with coffins, head-rests, vases, and provision
for a future life, the more usual method of burial at
Medum is lying on the left side, with the knees drawn
up, facing the east, and without any vases or other
objects. This shows a diversity of beliefs, and pro-
bably also of races, at this period (P.M. 21).
38 KHUFU [DYN. IV. a.
.V. .. K„„™ f o^.>^^ ] "»"3^t?:
Temple and pyramid, Akhety at Gizeh (P.P.)«
Rock tablet, Sinai (L.D. ii. 2 b).
Block, Bubastis (N.B. viii.).
Tablet, Hat-nub quarry (P. A. xlii.).
Alabaster vases (Liverpool, L. D. ii. 2 ; Posno
Coll.; P.P. Coll.).
Diorite bowl, ka name, Gizeh (P.P. Coll.).
Plummet, Gizeh (P.P. Coll.).
Weight (H. P. Coll.).
Scarabs. Plaque (see side).
Z)«w^A/^r, Henutsen. Tablet of Pasebkhanu Fig. 26.— Plaque
(M.D. 53). (F.P. Coll.).
The great pyramid of Gizeh has made the name of
Khufu, or Kheops, better remembered than that of
any other king of Egypt; a fact which reverses the
thoughtless verdict that pyramids are monuments of
senseless ambition, and contradicts Sir Thomas Browne
in his sentence that **to be but pyramidally extant is a
fallacy of duration." Khufu has provided the grandest
monument that any man ever had, and is by this means
better remembered than any other Eastern king through-
out history.
The great pyramid was set out from the first upon
a vast scale, larger than any other pyramid ; and it
contains more stone than ' probably any other single
building ever erected. Its base is far greater than
the whole area of the great temple of Karnak, from
Amenemhat to Ptolemy ; its height is greater than
any other building, except two or three slender towers
of this century. Yet it stands as one of the earliest
structures of the world (Fig. 27).
That it could not have been designed of any much
smaller size is shown conclusively by the internal pas-
sages. The entrance to these would have been quite
impracticable in design on any size of building not
much over two-thirds of the present base. The actual
size, moreover, shows that both this and the pyramid
of Medum were designed to an exact dimension. The
most probable theory of its construction is that it was
of such an angle that the height was the radius of a
circle equal to the circuit of the base. This is so
exactly the case, that it can hardly be questioned ;
and as the earlier pyramid of Sneferu has the same
angle, it is evident that some attention was given to
it. This angle is practically a rise of 14 on a base
of II (as the ratio of radius to circle is closely 7:44);
and hence the height of the pyramid should be divisible
by 7, and the base of the side by 11. On looking at
Fig. 37.— The Nine Pymmids of Gizeh froi
these two pyramids, we see that they were set out by a
modulus of an even number of cubits. They r
Height , -71,
71
; 25 cubits in Sncfcru's pyramid.
140 cubits in Khufu's pyramid.
Such a simple and direct application of a similar design
to each of these pyramids makes it very improbable
that they had been enlarged hap-hazard to their final
size without a clear design before arranged.
The pyramid was built of stone from the quarries on
the opposite side of the Nile; both the fine casing' and
40 KHUFU [DYN. IV. a.
the rough core must have come from there, as no such
stone, and no equivalent quarries, exist on the west
bank. The tradition recorded by Herodotus as to the
labour employed, is so entirely reasonable for the
execution of such a work, that we cannot hesitate to
accept it. It is said that a hundred thousand men were
levied for three months at a time {i.e. during* the three
months of the inundation, when ordinary labour is at
a standstill) ; and on this scale the pyramid-building
occupied twenty years. On reckoning the number and
weight of stones, this labour would fully suffice for the
work. The skilled masons had large barracks, now
behind the second pyramid, which might hold even four
thousand men; but perhaps a thousand would quite
suffice to do all the fine work in the time. Hence
there was no impossibility in the task, and no detriment
to the country in employing a small proportion of the
population at a season when they were all idle by the
compulsion of natural causes. The training and skill
which they would acquire by such work would be a
great benefit to the national character.
The workmanship greatly varies in different parts.
The entrance passage and the casing are perhaps the
finest ; the flatness and squareness of the joints being
extraordinary, equal to opticians' work of the present
day, but on a scale of acres instead of feet or yards of
material. The squareness and level of the base is
brilliantly true, the average error being less than a
ten-thousandth of the side in equality, in squareness,
and in level. The Queen's chamber is also very finely
fitted, the joints being scarcely perceptible. Above
that the work is rougher ; the grand gallery has not
this superlative fineness, and the construction of the
King's chamber is flagrantly out of level, though its
granite courses are fairly well wrought. A change of
design is also shown by the shaft which has been cut
through the masonry from the grand gallery to the
subterranean parts ; and also by the unfinished rough
core masonry left for the floor of the Queen's chamber.
Apparently the architect who designed and insisted on
B.C 3969-3908I KHUFU 41
all the fine work, died during its progress, and far
less able heads were left to finish it.
That the entrance was closed by a hinging trap-door
of stone is evident from the account of Strabo, and the
remains of such a door to the south pyramid of Dahshur.
The interior is so familiar in many books that it is need-
less to describe it here. The arrangement and number
of chambers is entirely different from that known in any
other pyramid ; but from our ignorance of their former
contents, it is almost useless to speculate about their
purpose. The granite box-coffin in the King's chamber
seems to point to that as the sepulchral chamber, espe-
cially as the great subterranean chamber in the rock
was abandoned before it was cut out. The second high-
level chamber, called the Queen's chamber, is said by
Edrisi (1236 A.D.) to have contained then a second
coffin ; but no trace has since been seen of it. The great
niche or recess in the east wall of the chaniber seems as
if it might be for the ka statue of the king.
The name of the king is found repeatedly written in
red paint, among the quarry marks, on the blocks of
masonry above the King's chamber ; this establishes the
traditional attribution of the pyramid. The chips and
waste of the masons were thrown out around the
pyramid to extend the platform on which it stands,
thus forming extensive banks lying against the cliff,
and stratified at the angle of rest. From these strata
pieces of pottery, charcoal, and thread may be obtained.
Outside of the great pyramid extended a wide pave-
ment of limestone, which on the east side stretched out
to a temple which stood there. Of this temple no walls
remain ; but there are portions of a pavement of brown
basalt, 190 feet long and 80 feet from east to west.
Outside of this pavement are three deep trenches cut in
the rock ; these were lined with blocks of fine stone,
and must have been originally about 166 feet long, 20 feet
deep, and not over 5 or 6 feet wide. The purpose of
such trenches is quite unknown ; but there may have
been some system of observing azimuths of stars by
a surface of water at the bottom, and a cord stretched
42
KHUFU
[dyn. IV. a.
from end to end at the top ; by noting the moment of
the transit of the reflection of the star past the cord,
an accurate observation of azimuth might be made,
and opposite azimuths of two stars (a polar and an
equatorial) could be noted by an observer at each end
of the cord. This is only a surmise ; but it is one which
would be in agreement with the accuracy of star obser-
vation shown by the orienting of the pyramid, and it
would explain the peculiar form of these trenches. A
fourth trench in the rock is but shallow, and has a
steady fall down to the cliff edge. As it is worn by
water, it was doubtless a drain for the washing of the
pavement.
The worship of Khufu was maintained till a late
period. The priests and keepers of the pyramid recordefl
are —
Merab
Ka'em'nefert
Khufu'ka'aru
Khemten
Ka-y .
Thentha
Hetep'hers
Aimeri
Shepses 'kaf'ankh
Ptah'bau'nefer
Dep'em'ankh
Snezem 'ab • Antha
(Unknown)
Ra nefer ab
Psemtek menkh
Early IVth dyn. Tomb, Gizeh (Berlin), L.D. ii. 22c
»>
a
a
it
Vth
»»
I)
>)
vith
XXVIth
»»
I)
a
»»
>»
>>
>>
)>
>>
Tomb, Gizeh,
n
»>
))
»>
»»
>»
M
if
if
»l
it
ti
f}
it
Sakkara,
»»
Gizeh,
tt
it
Sakkara,
Gizeh,
Shekh Said,
L.D. ii. 16
L.D. ii. lyd
L.D. ii. is
L.D. ii. 34 b
M.M.89
M.M. 90
L.D. ii.5ob
L.D. ii. 53 a
L.D. ii. 55
M.M. 198
L.D. ii. 76
L.D. ii. 112 a-c
Ring, Abbott Coll., New York
Serapeum stele 314, Louvre
The only great royal inscription, like that of Sneferu,
is on the rocks of Sinai. There are two tablets : one
with name and titles of Khufu, the other with the
king smiting an enemy, and the name Khnum Khuf
(L.D. ii. 2, b, c). This raises a difficult question, to
which no historian has yet given a satisfactory answer.
Who was this person designated as Khnum Khuf?
Was he the same as Khufu, or an associated king?
That he was not a successor is evident by the name
being used indifferently with that of Khufu, in the
B.C 396^»oa.l KHUFU 43
quarry marks inside the pyramid (L.D. ii. i), and by his
not appearing in any of the lists. The name is found in
five places — the pyramid quarry works (L.D. ii. i), the
tablet of Sinai (L.D. ii. a), the quarry of Hat-nUb, the
tomb of Khemten at Gizeh (L.D. ii. 26), and two farm
names of Shepseskafankh in Vth dynasty (L.D. ii. 50).
In each of these places the normal cartouche of Khufu
also occurs, except in the quarry ; and the second car-
touche differs in never being written with the two u
Wady Maghari
signs ; it is always Khnum-khuf, while the other name
is Khufii. The addition Khnum cannot be merely a
flight of orthography, as on the tomb of Khemten we
read, " Lord of vulture and uraeus, Mezed [ka name of
Khufu) (Khnum-khuf) Khent (Khufu)..." The two
names being thus placed in succession in one inscription
cannot be mere chance variants of the same. Either
they must be two distinct and independent names of
one king, or else two separate kings. If they were two
separate kings, Khnum Khuf must have been the more
44 KHUFU [OYN. IV. a.
important (his name being first, and being that of the
royal figure at Sinai) ; he must have lived through the
greater part of Khufu's life (as the name was used in
quarries when the pyramid was four-fifths built) ; and
he must have died before him (as the name never occurs
except with Khufu's). On the whole, it appears rather
more likely that this was a second and wholly separate
name of Khufu.
Another debatable question with regard to this reign
is the tablet containing a reference to the sphinx, which
has been often published and commented on (M.D. 53).
• The work of the tablet is wholly unlike that of the I Vth
dynasty ; and it is generally agreed that it was exe-
cuted in a late period. It was found in the small
temple beyond the small pyramid south-east of the great
pyramid. This temple was built by Pasebkhanu of the
XXIst dynasty ; and this tablet was carved probably
under him, or some successor of his. The whole value
of it turns on the question, then, whether it is an exact
copy of an earlier tablet engraved by Khufu. This can
only be judged by the character of it. In the first
place, we have no such series of figures of gods on any
existing monuments of the old kingdom ; and Osiris,
Isis, and the child Horus, which are mainly figured on
this tablet, are rarely mentioned in early times, but are
very common later. Osiris is called ** lord of Rustau,"
a title not found in early times, but used by Pasebkhanu
in this temple ; and the tablet is full of instances of
late writing, such as serpent determinative, neriy etc.,
which are unknown in early use, but are common
later on.
The subject of the inscription, a statement of the
searching for, or discovery of, certain buildings by
Khufu, is suspicious. It is just what would be very
likely to be put up in order to attach a credit and a
history to those temples — like the common recital of
the discovery of papyri under early kings. Moreover,
we have seen that it is very doubtful if any masonry
existed in Egypt before Tosorthros, ** who built a house
of hewn stones " in the Ilird dynasty. And how then
B.C. 396^3908.] KHUFU 45
could Khufu have needed to search for buildings erected
not long before his time ? Also, it is implied that there
were temples of Osiris and Isis here before Khufu, which
is very improbable, as there is no sign of earlier remains
at Gizeh before Khufu selected this site of open hill-
desert, Sneferu having built far away from Gizeh.
Again, the figure and mention of the Sphinx and its
temple is prominently introduced ; whereas there is no
other trace of the Sphinx, or any temple or worship con-
nected with it, among the dozens of various priesthoods,
or the hundreds of tombs, of the old kingdom. Further,
what chance was there of such atablet of Khufu remaining
until the XXIst dynasty to be copied, and yet not being
itself set up in the temple? In every direction, then, —
style, figures, and subject, — there are very suspicious
details about it ; and it is impossible to accept this as
certainly an exact copy of a work of Khufu. The refer-
ences to the positions of buildings, then, have no higher
authority than the beliefs of the XXIst dynasty. The
localities stated are a temple of Isis near the pyramids
of Khufu and his daughter Henutsen, a temple of the
Sphinx south of that, and a temple of Osiris south or
south-east of the temple of the Sphinx. The temple of
Isis would seem by the position to be the place of the
temple of Pasebkhanu where this tablet was found, and
the reason of carving such a tablet, to give a credit of
great antiquity to the place, is obvious. Of the temples
of Osiris and of the Sphinx nothing whatever is known.
The granite temple is clearly as late as Khafra, — as
we shall see presently, — and hence could not possibly
be a temple found by Khufu. The only point that
can be identified is the very place at which this
tablet was required to give the sanctity of age to a
new building.
The need of fine stone for the advancing luxuries of
architecture led to the discovery and working of the
alabaster quarry, as much as ten miles from the Nile,
behind Tell el Amarna. There Khufu began by cutting
a wide, gently - sloping road, descending into the
4b KHUFU [DYN. TV. 3.
plateau, to reach the rock-masses of alabaster ; and
the cartouche Khnum Khuf and ka name, cut as his
sign of possession on the rock, have stood open to the
day ever since. This quarry was that well known as
Hat-nub in the later inscriptions ; it was used during*
the old kingdom, and was probably the source of
all the alabaster building and vessels of that age.
In the middle kingdom an adjacent quarry was
opened, and others during the empire. Alabaster
vases of Khufu are known (Liverpool and Posno
Coll.), and a piece of one was found at Koptos (F.P.
Coll.).
At Bubastis, a granite block with a largely sculptured
ka name of Khufu points to his having executed some
great building here ; and this early work is confirmed
by an adjacent block of Khafra.
It has been stated that Khufu erected an obelisk
(W.G. 178, 185), but this is a mis-reading. The real
passage is, that Merab (L.D. ii. 22 c) was Urmaa^ or
high priest, of Heliopolis (as Rahotep was at Medum,
P.M. xiii.), and also priest of Khufu ; the obelisk, or
rather column, merely occurs here as a sign in writing
the name of Heliopolis, and has nothing to do with
Khufu.
There are many tombs of great persons with the title
** king's son," some being grandsons of kings, as Merab
(L.D. ii. 20, 21), whose mother was a king's daughter,
but not a king's wife. Hence it is impossible to settle
the parentage of these persons, or to which king they
should be referred. These being, then, without direct
historical connection, we cannot here refer to them,
except when they held royal priesthoods or other such
offices. A weight bearing the name of Khufu carries
back the gold standard of 200 grains to his time
(H.P. Coll.).
The scarabs of Khufu are not very rare ; from their
workmanship, they are probably contemporary, except-
ing one of pottery made under Amenardus (G.M.). The
plaque at the heading of this reign bears the .earliest
example of the winged disc (F.P. Coll.).
B.C 3908-3845. KHAFRA 47
IV. 3. KHAFRAf O Q 2Ce^ labout 3908-3845 B.C.
Temple and pyramid Z/r, at Gizeh (P.P.).
Granite temple and causeway (P.P.).
Great statue and others, g'ranite temple (G. Mus.).
Alabaster statue, Sakkara (G.Mus.).
Block, Bubastis (N.B. xxxii.).
Name from a bowl, temple of pyramid (B.M.).
Names on mace-head ,, (F.P. Coll.).
Scarabs (B.M., etc.) Cylinder (F.P. Coll.).
Fig. 29.— Names of
Khafra from a
statue.
The pyramid of Khafra stands near that of Khufu, on
the south-west. It has always been attributed to him
by Herodotus and Diodoros, and by modern writers.
The only monumental evidences are the pieces of a
bowl and a mace-head with his name, found in the
temple of this pyramid. But the sequence of position
between the first and third pyramids makes this attribu-
tion unquestionable.
The pyramid is rather smaller than that of Khufu,
inferior in accuracy, and of a worse quality of stone,
both for core and for casing masonry. The lowest
course, however, was of red granite, which did not
appear on the outside of Khufu's pyramid ; the entrance
passage is also of granite. The site of the pyramid
has been levelled considerably. At the south-east it
is built up of blocks of rock ; at the west and north
it is deeply cut into the rock hill, leaving a wide space
around the sloping mass of the sides, with a vertical
boundary facing the pyramid. The lower part of the
pyramid on these sides is undisturbed rock cut into
shape ; upon that lie a few courses of enormous rock
blocks, cut out from the rock clearance around the
48 KHAFRA [dvn. iv. 3.
pyramid, and above that comes building of smaller
blocks brought from the east cliffs. The casing still
remains upon the top of this pyramid.
It had originally two entrance passages, one high on
the face ; another leading out in the pavement in front
of the face ; this was, and still is, blocked with masonry.
The chamber is on the ground level, sunk in the rock,
but roofed over with slanting beams of stone. The
sarcophagus is of granite ; the lid was secured by
under-cut grooves in which it slid, and was held from
being withdrawn by bolts (of copper ?) which fell into
holes, and were secured by melted resin, which still
remains. The sarcophagus was sunk into the floor
when Belzoni found it, and its lid lay over it, displaced :
now the floor is all destroyed.
On the east side of the pyramid stood a temple. The
vast blocks of rock which formed the core of the walls
still remain ; and some of the granite casing of the
interior is yet in place. It is encumbered with masses
of chips, among which are pieces of the furniture of the
temple, statues, vases, etc.
From this temple a causeway led down a line of the
rock plateau, where a gradual and easy slope could be
laid out. It is evident that this is a road of convenience,
made exactly where it could be laid out with the best
gradient, and distinctly not square with the pyramid or
the temple, being about i^'' south of east. It was
doubtless the road up which all the material was
brought for the building of the pyramid and the temple,
like the roads belonging to the other pyramids. It was
paved with fine stone, recessed into the rock bed.
This road led down to the plain, and must have been
open at the end when the material was being taken up
it. After the pyramid and its temple were finished, the
road was utilised as a junction between the pyramid-
temple at the top of it, which was built square with the
pyramid, and another temple at the foot of it, which
was built with a skew entrance in continuation of the
road (Fig. 30). This is a point of great importance as
proving the age of the granite temple. Both of these
temples are oriented square to the points of the compass;
but the road between them is askew for reasons of its
construction, and the lower temple passage :s all one
with the line of the skew road. This skew passage
has never been altered or adapted to the road after the
rest of the temple was built ; for there are no signs of
any reconstruction, and the doorway in the corner of
the ^eat hall is askew in the wall, so that it could not
have been altered without pulling- down all that end of
the building. The courtyard on the top of the temple,
and the stairs of access to the top, are also dependent
causeway leading askew up
pkofse
on this skew passagre, which is built in one compact
mass with the whole body of the temple. Hence the
granite temple must be subsequent to the roadway and
to the building and finishing of the pyramid and temple
of Khafra; and as his statues were found in this
temple, the building of it may be almost certainly
attributed to Khafra.
This granite temple— often misnamed the temple of
the Sphinx— is reallv a free-standing building on the
plain at the foot of'the hills ; but it is so much en-
cumbered that it is often supposed to be subterranean.
The upper part of it now consists only of the great
blocks of inferior rock which formed the core of the
Fig. 31,-Plan of granite temple. Scale tJj.
walls ; but the lower storey of it inside is perfect, and
outside of it the casing still remains, showing that it
was decorated with the primitive pattern of recessing.
B.C. 3908-3845! KHAFRA 51
The origin of this pattern is unknown ; probably it is
derived from brick decoration, as it is found equally in
the earliest brickwork in Egypt (Medum) and in Baby-
lonia (Wuswas ; see Loftus, Chaldea^ 172-179). The
whole of the surfaces inside are of red granite, or white
alabaster (Fig. 31). The essential parts of it are
a T-shaped hall with the stem toward the pyramid, and
a long hall parallel with, and adjoining, the head of the
T. From the T-hall opens a chamber with three long
recesses, each divided into an upper and lower part
by a thick shelf. These recesses are of alabaster, and
from their form probably contained sarcophagi. This
chamber, and one opening from the entrance passage,
retain their roofs complete, with ventilating slits along
the top of the wall. Over the T-hall was an open
court, reached by a sloping way, which turns in the
thickness of the wall, from the entrance passage. The
long hall is higher than the T-hall, and had a large
recess above each of the doors which occupy the ends
of it. These recesses seem as if they might be for
statues, as there is no access to them, and they were
closed at the back, and so could not be for windows.
The diorite statue of Khafra was found in this hall,
thrown into a well, or subterranean chamber. This is
now filled up, and no proper account was ever given by
the explorers. The east side of the temple has not
been cleared, and the structure of it further in this
direction is yet unknown.
Near this temple stands the Sphinx (Fig. 32) ; and as
there is no evidence of its age, we may consider it here
owing to its position. Its whole mass, lion's body
and man's head, is entirely carved in unmoved native
rock, although the weathering lines give the head the
appearance of built courses. The body has been cased
with stone, and the paws of it are built up with small
masonry, probably of Roman age. It must have been a
knoll of rock, which ran out to a headland from the spur
of the pyramid plateau ; and the hardness and fine quality
of the mass now forming the head had doubtless preserved
it from the weathering which had reduced the soft
strata below that. When then was this knoll of rock
so carved ? And by whom ? A later limit is given by
the stele of Tahutmes IV. placed between its paws,
which records a dream of his, when taking a noonday
siesta in its shadow. It must then be much older than
his time. On the other hand, it has been supposed to
be prehistoric. But there is some evidence against
that. In the middle of the back is an old tomb shaft ;
such would certainly not be made at a time when it
was venerated, and it must belong to some tomb which
_ was made here
before the Sphinx
was carved. And
no tombs at Gizeh
are older than
Khufu, nor are
any in this part
of the cemetery
older than Kha-
fra. We may see
this on looking
at the wide cause-
way in the rock
up to the second
pyr;
On
;. -The Sphinx, s
either hand of
that is a crowd
of tomb shafts,
but not one is cut in the whole width of the causeway.
In short, the causeway of Khafra precedes the tombs
in the neighbourhood ; but the Sphinx succeeds these
tombs. Another consideration points to its being later
than the old kingdom ; there is no figure or mention
of the Sphinx itself on a single monument of the old
kingdom, nor do any priests of his appear. On the stele
of Tahutmes IV, Khafra is alluded to, perhaps as the
maker of the Sphinx; this connection was easily sug-
gested by its nearness to his pyramid and temples.
But how much Tahutmes knew of Khafra, or cared to
B.C. 3908-3845.1 KHAFRA 53
honour him, is shown by the material he selected for
his tablet. It is carved on a grand door lintel of red
granite, which almost certainly was robbed from the
adjacent granite temple of Khafra. The devotion of
Tahutmes to his predecessor was a fiction, and no
more ; and how much he knew of the works of Khafra
may well be doubted. The real period of the Sphinx
may be between the old and middle kingdom, to which
age it now seems that we must assign all those
sphinxes formerly attributed to the Hyksos.
The front of the Sphinx was a place of devotion in
Roman times ; and great brick walls were built to hold
back the sand on the side next the granite temple. A
wide flight of steps leads down to the front, where a
Roman altar of granite stood before the shrine between
the paws, which was formed of tablets of Tahutmes IV. ,
Ramessu II., etc. This front of the Sphinx has been
cleared three times in this century ; but the back of
it, and lower part of the sides, have never been
examined.
Khafra was worshipped till late times, like the other
great kings of this age. His priests and keepers of
the pyramid were —
Thetha .
IVth dynasty
(L.A. 8, a, d)
Uash (his son) .
»» »»
(L.A. 8,b,c)
Khafra *ankh .
> )) ))
(L.D. ii. 8, 10, 11)
NefermJlat
Dahshur
(M.A.F. i. 191)
Ka'em'nefert .
Vth dynasty
(M.M. 248)
Dep'em'ankh .
Vth dynasty
(M.M. 198)
Psamtek'menkh
XXVIth dynasty
(Serapeum stele, 314)
Apparently some other great building of Khafra
existed to the south of the Memphite cemeteries ; for in
the construction of the south pyramid of Lisht are built
in some fragments of a lintel and walls, bearing the
name of Khafra.
The statues of Khafra have brought us face to face
with him, and caused his features to be almost as well
M KHAFRA [ow. "■ *
known in our times as in his own reign {Fig. 33).
The great diorite statue is a marvel of art ; the pre-
cision of the expression combining what a man should
be to win our feelings, and what a king should be to
command our regard. The subtlety shown in this
combination of expression, — the ingenuity in the over-
shadowing hawk, which does not interfere with the
front view, — the technical ability in executing this in so
resisting a material, —
all unite in fixing our
regard on this as one of
the leadingexamplesof
ancient art. Six other
Fic. 3;.
(G. Mus.)
statues of lesser size were also found in the granite
temple, carved in diorite and green basalt. A smaller
statue of fine work in alabaster was in the group
of early statues lately found at Sakkara. All of
these are now in the Ghizeh Museum. Fragments of
diorite statues occur in the mounds of chips over the
temple of the second pyramid. From this same place
come a piece of an alabaster bowl with his cartouche
MENKAURA
55
(B.M.), and a piece of a mace-head in hard white lime-
stone, with ka name and cartouche (F.P. Coll.). A block
of granite with the names of Khafra was found at
Bubastis(N.B. xxxii.), showing his activity in the Delta.
The earliest dated cylinder is of the reign of Khafra ;
it is rudely cut in greenish steatite, with a variant of
the name " (Ra'en-khaO. loving the gods " (F.P. Coll.).
His scarabs are not very rare.
■ ( O g:±:3 UUU _,
3845-
3784
Temple and pyramid, Her,
Pyramid, Neter, Abu Roash.
, Small pyramid by Her py-
ramid, Gizeh.
irite statue, Sakkara
(G.Mus.).
r- Scuabs (B.M., etc.); cylinder Ftc 34.— Sleatite cylinder
(se.
side).
(F.P. ColL)
1 scale.
, As in the case of Sneferu, we again meet with the
inge occurrence of a king having apparently two
In the tomb of Urkhuu, at Gizeh, we find
, ttt he was priest of Menkaura, and keeper of a place
Pbelonging to the pyramid Her (L.D. ii. 4,'5d, 44a).
And Debehen, who was a high official of Menkaura,
also mentions the pyramid Her (L.D. ii. 37 b, ist col.),
so that it is always recognised by historians as his
pyramid. But Debehen goes on to say that he in-
spected the works of the Menkaura pyramid Ncfcr
(2nd col.). And Uta in the IVth (G. Mus.) and
Dep-em-ankh (M.M. 198) in the Vth dynasty were
priests of the Menkaura pyramid Neter. Hence it is
probable that there were two pyramids; and they
cannot belong to different kings called Menkaura, as
Debehen names them together in his inscription, and
56 MENKAU-RA fnvN. tv. ,.
both cartouches are Ra*men'kau, thus excluding Ra*
men'ka (singular), ue, Netakert of the Vlth dynasty.
This mention of two pyramids exactly accounts for
the name being found at two places. The third
pyramid of Gizeh has been attributed to Menkaura by
Herodotos and Diodoros, and his name is found in one
of the small pyramids by its side. But also a piece of
a diorite statue — like those of Khafra — was found at
the hill pyramid of Abu Roash, with part of the
cartouche Ra'men ; and the casing and passage
lining of the Abu Roash pyramid with granite was
closely like the casing and lining of Menkaura's
Gizeh pyramid with granite. The style of the statue
and of the casing link the pyramid of Abu Roash
to the 'middle of the IVth dynasty. Which of the
pyramids was the final sepulchre we may guess ;
that of Gizeh is evidently in sequence with those
of Khufu and Khafra, and was probably built first.
But it was enlarged in course of building, and yet
the casing is left unfinished. Finally, seeing that it
was hopeless to rival the great structures of his pre-
decessors, Menkaura seems then to have selected a
new site at Abu Roash, where, on the highest hill of
the western cliffs, a small pyramid might show with
advantage. At Abu Roash it is that the funeral statue
was placed, together with a granite sarcophagus,
which has been destroyed. Following the sequence
thus indicated, it seems that Her was the earlier
pyramid — that of Gizeh ; for there is no priest of the
pyramid Hevy and it is mentioned by Debehen before
the pyramid Neter, On the other hand, Debehen
names the pyramid Neter later, and there were priests
of it in the IVth and Vth dynasties. Neter seems then
to have been the actual sepulchre, and would therefore
be the later pyramid — that of Abu Roash.
The pyramid of Menkaura, at Gizeh, is far smaller
than those of his predecessors ; and it is also far
inferior in accuracy. But the masonry is good, and
it is built in a more costly manner. The lower sixteen
courses were cased with red granite, most of which
B.C 3845-3784- 1
MENKAURA
57
still remains ; the upper part was of limestone, of
which heaps of fragments now encumber the sides.
The granite casing was quarried and brought to Gizeh
with an excess of several inches* thickness on the face,
the building joint-line being marked by a smoothly-
worked slanting strip down the side of the stone,
beyond which it rounds away. This excess has never
been removed from the faces, and the pyramid was
never finished. The interior differs from that of the
other pyramids (Fig. 35). The present entrance is
go
Fig. 35. — Section of the pyramid of Menkaura.
lower than the line of an earlier passage, which was
disused when the pyramid was partly built. The early
passage now opens on to the great chamber at a higher
level than the present door, and it runs northward in
the masonry until blocked by the outer part of the
building. The lower passage is lined with red granite
down to the rock, like the entrance of Khafra*s pyramid.
In the horizontal part in the rock are several port-
cullises, and a small chamber, or enlargement of the
passage, decorated with the early recessed pattern.
58 MENKAURA [dyn. iv. 4.
Beyond all this the large chamber is reached, entirely
cut in the rock. The doorway of the earlier passage
is now high up above the doorway of the later passage.
The chamber has a recess in the floor, apparently in-
tended for a sarcophagus ; but another short passage
descends in the midst of the chamber westward, and
opens into a lower chamber in which stood the basalt
sarcophagus, decorated with the recessed pattern of
panelled doorways. This was removed by Vyse, and
lost at sea. The lower chamber is lined with granite,
built into a flat-topped chamber cut in the rock. The
floor and walls are of granite, and the roof is of sloping
granite beams, butting together, and cut out into a
barrel roof beneath, like the barrel roofs of some of
the early tombs at Gizeh. Some steps descend from
the side of the passage to a small chamber with loculi.
In the upper chamber was found the lid of a wooden
coffin with inscription of Menkaura, and part of a
skeleton, probably of a later interment.
From this, and considerations on other pyramids, it
has been lately suggested that a great amount of
reconstruction of the pyramids took place under the
later kings of the renascence, — about the XXVIth
dynasty, — and that much of the present arrangements
are due to them. This will be the best place to review
such a theory. The strong points of it are that the
inscription on the wooden coffin of Menkaura has some
details which are unparalleled in any inscription so
early ; hence this coffin is probably a reconstruction.
Next, the step pyramid of Sakkara has certainly been
largely altered, and new passages made in it, probably
more than once ; the glazed tiles of the doorway in it
are also considered by some to be late in date, but the
most distinct point claimed for this is the writing of
maa with the cubit inside the sickle, yet this is found
also on the jar lid of Sneferu (G.M.), which is certainly
early. The peculiar form of the granite sarcophagus
of the pyramid of Illahun, with a lip around it, and a
sloping base, is adduced as a sign that it was let into
B.C 3845-3784.1 MEN'KAURA 59
the floor in the first construction, and that therefore
the chamber in which it now stands is a reconstruction.
The winding passage of the pyramid of Hawara, and
the steps down the entrance passage, are also looked
on as a reconstruction, and the original passage is
supposed to have been direct from the north side to
the middle of the chamber roof, the continuation of the
trough in the floor of the upper chamber.
Now, there cannot be any question that there has
been a re-use of some of the pyramids for sepulture,
the small ushabtis of the XXXth dynasty in the
pyramid of Hawara put this beyond doubt. Nor can
we doubt that alteration has been made in some cases,
as in the many passages of the step pyramid of Sak-
kara. Nor is it unlikely that the coffin lid of Menkaura
is a late restoration, especially as we have seen that it
is probable that he was actually buried at Abu Roash.
And in some cases it is certain that changes have taken
place in course of building, as in Khufu's and Men-
kaura's pyramids.
The question^ then, is one of degree. It can hardly
be questioned that the idea of changes having taken
place holds good in some cases ; but how far have
such changes extended? Is it conceivable that any
king, for instance, could have made all the winding
passages of the Hawara pyramid as a reconstruction ?
The great length of them, the series of blocking
chambers with gigantic trap-doors in the roofs, the long,
false passage blocked up, the dumb wells which lead
nowhere, all these great works, if subsequent con-
structions, would have had to be built into a mass
of loose bricks and sand, in which it is a great difficulty
to run even a small drift-way, to say nothing of the
great spaces required for such construction, and for
executing work on such great masses. It would be
more practicable to take down the whole pyramid
before putting in such a mass of heavy masonry, and
then re-erect it afterwards. Again, at lUahun, if the
sarcophagus were originally let into the floor, the
whole granite chamber must be a reconstruction, and
6o MENKAURA [dyn. iv. 4.
a gigantic work of reconstruction it would be, to intro-
duce the whole of this masonry and form a new
and secondary chamber beside the main one already
existing.
If any such grand works of reconstruction had taken
place, to whom can they be attributed ? Certainly not
to the XVIIIth or XlXth dynasty, for plundering was
rather the habit then, as witness the sweeping away of
the temple and shrine of Usertesen II. at Illahun by
Ramessu II. (P.K. 22). The XXVIth dynasty, with
its renascence of the old ideas, is the only likely period
for such attention to the older kings, as many priest-
hoods of those kings were revived then. But if so,
how is it that the restorers have not left a single trace
of their presence? Over-modesty was not a failing
of Egyptian kings in any age ; usually they stamped
out all remembrance of their forerunners in order to
aggrandise themselves. Even the more reasonable
kings always put up their names, and a statement of
the rebuilding they had done, when they repaired a
temple. Is it then possible to suppose that, after
doing work comparable with the building of the
pyramids, they should have sunk all trace of them-
selves ? Not a hieroglyph, not a graffito, can be seen
anywhere associated with these supposed reconstruc-
tions. Again, if they had spent such toil and cost
upon the hidden interiors of the pyramids from a
deeply religious veneration for the ancient kings, and
appointed services of priests to adore them, — as we see
by the priesthoods, — is it conceivable that they should
never have provided any restoration bf the old temples
in which these priests could worship? Would the
external buildings for the honour of the king, and the
use of the priest, have been totally neglected, while
a lavish grandeur of work was spent on the hidden
interior? Yet there is no trace of reconstruction of
the pyramid temples. The temples of Illahun were
swept away by Ramessu II., as shown by objects of
his time, and by his name scrawled on the stones, and
no sign of reconstruction is to be found. The priests
B.C. 3845-3784.1 MEN-KAURA 61
must have adored at the pyramid in open air, while
vast and needless granite work was being made inside
the pile. At the temple of Khafra there is no trace of
restoration ; but the rubbish now filling it contains the
relics of small objects, which would never have remained
in use until a restoration three thousand years later.
The present ruin must be the first and only one which
has overtaken that site.
So far, then, from pushing the theory of reconstruction
as far as possible, and explaining every little anomaly
and change of design by that means, we meet with
such serious difficulties in supposing this reconstruction
to be important in either amount or extent, that it is
needful to limit it firmly to such cases as are inex-
plicable on any other supposition. One instance which
has not been actually adduced, but which seems at
first sight a good case, is the late style of the figure of
king Men'kau'hor, on a slab brought from his temple
(reworked into the Serapeum), and now in the Louvre.
The details of the figure, the vulture flying over it with
the ring in the claws, the decoration of the kilt in front,
all look certainly of late date, at least of the XlXth
dynasty. But sculptures of Antef V. (XI th dyn.) and
of Sebekhotep IV. (Xlllth dyn.) bear figures which
are almost exactly the same, showing that what seems
to be late may be far earlier than we suppose.
And, moreover, the slab of Menkauhor has been re-
w^orked into a tomb, the hieroglyphs of which are
certainly later in position than the figure of Menkauhor ;
yet these hieroglyphs can hardly be later than the
XVII I th dynasty, and are more probably of the Xllth.
Thus in a case which at first sight seems good evidence
of restoration by the XXVIth dynasty, we see reasons
for setting aside any such hypothesis when we learn
more of the facts. This may serve as a useful instance
of the risk of rashness in applying theories too widely
and generally.
Of the temple of Menkaura, only the outline of core
blocks is now known ; the granite casing and pillars
having been removed in the last century.
6j ^ UEN-KAU-RA to™. i» *
Of lesser remains of Menkaura there is a statuette in
diorite found at Sakkara (Fig. 36) (G. M.). The work
_ is not equal to the
statues of Khafra, but
is better than that of
some later statuettes
found in the same group.
It seems from the
diversity and continual
deterioration of the
work, that these statu-
ettes must have been
executed under the
kings whose names
they bear. Unhappily
they were found at
Sakkara by Arab
diggers, from whom
they were bought at
a high price for the
Ghizeh Museum ; and
very contradictory
statements have been
made as to their real source.
The second earliest cylinder known is of Men'kau'ra ;
it is cut in black steatite, and is of the same work as
the small rude cylinders of black steatite which are of
very early date, and appear to
be substitutes for funereal steles.
This bears the name " (Ra'men*
kau) beloved of the gods (Ra*
men-kau) Hathor . . ." (F.P.
Coll.). The contemporary scarabs
of Menkaura are rarer than those
of either of his predecessors
(Fig. 37) ; but his name was fre-
quently used in later times. Hat-
shepsut made scarabs of him, and
in the XXVIth dynasty his name is common on scarabs,
cylinders, and plaques, found — and probably made— at
Fig. 37.— Scarab of Men-
by Ilatsbepsul.
B.C. 3845-3759I RADAD-EF 63
Naukratis, Marathus, and elsewhere. It is remarkable
how correctly he is entitled on these objects, which
appear to have been copied from some real scarabs of
his time.
The prince Hordadef is said in the Book of the
Dead to be a son of Menkaura ; but this is not an
earlier authority than the Westcar papyrus, which in
one tale names Hordadef son of Khufu. As there is
no other person Hordadef known, it is probable that
this is a confusion of one person, whose date cannot
be settled without contemporary evidence. It is
possible that this is the same person as the next king,
Ra'dad'ef.
IV. 5. RADAD-EF (oT^^ ^""Tr i^n"^"
^ V ^ ji / ^ 3759 B.C.
Scarcely anything is known about this king, and even
his historic position is not certain. On the one hand,
his name appears in the lists of Abydos and Sakkara,
between Khufu and Khafra. But, on the other hand,
he is omitted by Mertitefs, who recites her successive
connection with Sneferu, Khufu, and Khafra (R.S.D.
37). Psamtek'menkh and Psamtek, his priests in the
XXVIth dynasty, give the sequence in both cases as
Khufu, Khafra, and Ra'dad-ef (R.S.D. 53). We can
hardly refuse to recognise the Rhatoises of Manetho
as Ra'ded'f ; and here again the name appears after
Khafra, and after Menkaura. There is a bronze
cylinder of this king in the Poignon Collection (W.G.
187J ; but there are no other traces of him, except a
priest Ptah'du'aau (R.E. 62) at Gizeh, a slab of another
priest of his (G. Mus.), and a farm named after him in
the tomb of Persen (R.S.D. 53, 54) at Sakkara. His
pyramid is unknown.
SHEPSES KAF [dvn iv 6.
IV. 6. Shepses-ka-f i ^ P P jr^ J3759^3737
B.C.
Pyramid, JCeb, site unknown.
Scarab (see side) ; cylinder (P.P. Coll.).
Eldest daughter^ Maat'kha.
Fig. 38. —Scarab
(P.P. Coll.).
The only list containing" this king's name is that of
Abydos ; and in that, and the few other monuments,
his name is always thus written, but on a scarab it
appears with ra added (see above). There may have
been two forms of the name, as there were the two forms,
Neb'ka and Neb'ka'ra, apparently both belonging" to
the same king ; and at Shekh Said Userkaf has ra added
to his name, as Manetho also gives Userkheres {jLe,
User-ka'f'ra) for User'ka'f. The name in Manetho,
Bikheris, may possibly be a mutilated form of this
name retaining only the p'ka'ra. Or else the Seber-
kheres, the next name on the list, might refer to this
king ; but as the tomb of Ptah 'shepses shows this
noble to have lived through the reigns of Menkaura
and Shepseskaf, it is less likely that the Rhatoises and
Bikheris of Manetho should both have to come between
those kings.
Most of our knowledge of this king is from the
tomb of his son-in-law, Ptah'shepses. He begins his
biography by saying that "Menkaura educated him
among the royal children, in the great house of the
king, in the private apartments ; in the harem he was
precious to the king more than any child. Shepseskaf
educated him among the royal children in the great house
of the king, in the private apartments in the harem ;
he was distinguished with the king more than any
boy. The king gave to him his eldest daughter
Maat'kha as his wife. His majesty desired better to
B.C. 3759-3730-1 SHEPSES'KA-F 65
put her with him than with any person. He was
precious to the king more than any servant ; he entered
all the boats, he selected the bodyguard upon the
ways of the court to the South in all festivals of appear-
ing. He was secretary of all the works which it
pleased his majesty to make, continually pleasing the
heart of his lord. He was allowed by his majesty
to kiss his knees, and was not allowed to kiss the
ground. He pleased the heart of his lord when he
entered in the boat * Which bears the gods,' in all
festivals of the appearing, loved by his lord. Satisfy-
ing the heart of his lord, loving his lord. Devoted to
Ptah, doing the will of his god." He fulfilled many
great offices, both priestly and civil ; and among these
charges we find for the first time priesthoods attached
to three obelisks of Ra. These obelisks continued to
be worshipped throughout the Vth dynasty : one is
named in the phrase "Of Ra * prophet in the
Sep-ra," with the obelisk on a mastaba base as a
determinative ; ** of Ra • prophet in the Shepu'ab'ra,"
with the same determinative; and **of Ra*em*akhti
prophet in the Ast*ab*ra," again with the obelisk.
On these structures see Sethe (A.Z. xxvii. iii).
Sebek-ka-ra (OmW 1 ^^""""^ 3737-3730
V ^^ ^ ^ B.C.
This king is only known on the table of Sakkara,
and his position there is between the end of the kings
after the Vlth dynasty, and the end of the reversed
order of the XHth dynasty. No such king is known
in other lists at that period, and he agrees well to
the Manethonic name Seberkheres. But it is perhaps
more likely that Sebek'ka'ra is a mistake of the
sculptor for Sebek-neferu-ra, who would occupy that
place if inserted at the end of the XHth dynasty.
The sculptor made a mistake close by this of ma for
dad.
66 IMHOTEP [0YN. IV.
IMHOTEP ( ^ j m g> g J about 3730-3721 B.C.
This king is only known by an inscription of his in
the Wady Hammamat (L.D. ii. 115 h). But there is no
indication of his position except the apparent equival-
ence with Thamfthis in Manetho. As there are no
other inscriptions as early as this at Hammamat, it is
possible that he has been misplaced in Manetho.
In closing the account of this dynasty we will try to
grasp somewhat of its character. The essential feeling
of all the earliest work is a rivalry with nature. In
other times buildings have been placed either before a
background of hills, so as to provide a natural setting
to them, or crowning some natural height. But the
Egyptian consented to no such tame co-operation with
natural features. He selected a range of desert hills
over a hundred feet high, and then subdued it entirely,
making of it a mere pedestal for pyramids, which were
more than thrice as high as the native hill on which
they stood. There was no shrinking from a com-
parison with the work of nature ; but, on the contrary,
an artificial hill was formed which shrunk its natural
basis by comparison, until it seemed a mere platform
for the work of man.
This same grandeur of idea is seen in the vast masses
used in construction. Man did not then regard his
work as a piling together of stones, but as the erection
of masses that rivalled those of nature. If a cell or
chamber was required, each side was formed of one
single stone, as at Medum. If a building was set up,
it was an artificial hill in which chambers were carved
out after it was piled together ; thus a mere hollow was
left where the chamber should be, and then it was
dressed down and sculptured as if it were in the heart
of the living rock.
The sculptor's work, and the painter's, show the same
B.C. 373«>-372X.l IMHOTEr 67
sentiment. They did not make a work of art to please
the taste as such ; but they rivalled nature as closely as
possible. The form, the expression, the colouring, the
glittering transparent eye, the grave smile, all are copied
as if to make an artificial man. The painter mixed
his half- tints and his delicate shades, and dappled
over the animals, or figured the feathers of the birds, in
a manner never attempted in the later ages. The
embalmer built up the semblance of the man in resins
and cloth over his shrunken corpse, to make him as
nearly as possible what he was when alive.
In each direction man then set himself to supplement,
to imitate, to rival, or to exceed, the works of nature.
Art, as the gratification of an artificial taste and
standard, was scarcely in existence ; but the simplicity,
the vastness, the perfection, and the beauty of the
earliest works place them on a different level to all
works of art and man's device in later ages. They are
unique in their splendid power, which no self-conscious
civilisation has ever rivalled, or can hope to rival ; and
in their enduring greatness they may last till all the
feebler works of man have perished.
68
THE FIFTH DYNASTY
[dvn. ▼.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Manbtho.
Userkheres
Sefres
Neferkheres
Sislres
Kheres
Rhathures
t
Menkheres
Tankheres
Onnos
CHAPTER IV
The Fifth Dynasty
Lists.
User*ka*f
Sahu'ra
/Nefer'ar'ka'ra
\ Kakaa. A.
Shepses'ka'ra
/Nefer'f'ra. A.
\ Kha'nefer. ra. S.
Ra 'en 'user
Men'kau'hor
Dad'ka'ra
Unas
Monuments.
User'ka'f
Sahu'ra
{Nefer'ar'ka'ra
Kakaa?
{Shepses'ka'ra
Suhtes ?
/Nefer'f'ra
\ Akauhor ?
{Ra 'en 'user
An
Men'kau'hor
{Dad'ka'ra
Assa?
Unas
Total stated 248, actually
Years.
28
13
20
20
44
T.P.
9 8
44 28
33 30
218
B.C
about
3721
3693
3680
3660
3653
3633
3589
3580
3536
3503
With the fifth dynasty we come to a new family, and
to a more marked separation from previous times than
B.O 37ai.l THE FIFTH DYNASTY 69
has been met before. In the lists of Manetho the
previous dynasties were all Thinite or Memphite, but_
here we meet a sudden change to Elephantine. In the
Tales of the Magicians of the Westcar papyrus there is
a curiously impossible tale, which evidently embodies
some tradition of the change. Hordadef, the son of
Khufu, is represented as introducing an ancient magi-
cian named Dedi, who tells Khufu that the eldest
of three children, yet to be born, shall deliver to him
certain documents he desires. Then the birth of the
children is described, and the goddesses name them by
punning names, — User'ref, Sah'ra, and Kakau, imitat-
ing the names of the first three kings of the Vth dynasty.
The goddesses also declare of each that it is a king who
shall reign over all the land. They then make crowns,
and leave them in the house ; and a sound of royal festi-
vity emanates from the royal emblems. A maid-servant
out of jealousy starts to tell king Khufu of these new
claimants, and the tale is here broken off. The con-
fusion of dates in supposing Kaka to be born in the
reign of Khufu is obvious, but yet there is no reason to
discredit the basis of the tale. The essential points of
importance are that these three kings of the Vth dynasty
are supplanters, of whom Dedi prophesies to Khufu,
** Thy son shall reign, and thy son's son, and then one
of them " ; that these supplanters are born of the wife of
a priest of Ra, who conceives these triplets by Ra ; and
that the god has promised the mother that they shall
reign, and that the eldest of them shall be high priest
in Heliopolis. Here, then, the new dynasty starts from
a high priest of Heliopolis, and claims divine descent
from Ra. Until this tale comes to be considered, it
has never been observed that no Egyptian king claims
descent from Ra until this Vth dynasty. The earlier
kings are always Horus kings, or Horus and Set
united; but no king calls himself "Son of Ra " until
the new dynasty, who are here stated to be children of
the god Ra, and to begin as his high priests at Helio-
polis. Thus the claim of the divine descent recorded
in this tale precedes, and accounts for, the new title
TO
USERKAF
(dvn. ▼. 1
found on the monuments. There is a further possi-
bility of connection with this tale ; for it is there said
that the wife of the priest who bore these, kings dwelt
at Sakhebu, a place somewhere in the Delta, probably
not far from Heliopolis. Possibly here is ' the origin of
Manetho's calling the dynasty Elephantine ;^ccording" to
the tale they come from ? ? 11 ^ ^ » according to
Manetho from Elephan- 4lj i J _fl tine, written
n n t^ ^ a form which might be a corruption of the
I J jf ^ real name Sakhebu, by substituting for it
the better-known name of Elephantine.
Of the order of the kings of this dynasty there is but
little doubt. The only questions are concerning the
double names that become common with the new race,
who probably each had a second name as a son of Ra,
a divine name as well as a human name. The list
of Abydos and that of Sakkara each omit one king, but
the monuments and Manetho leave no doubt as to the
true order.
V. I. USER-KA'
■'(ME)
about 3721-3693 B.C.
Pyramid, Uab'asuf, Abusir?
Cylinders (M.D. 546. B. Mus.).
The position of the pyramid
of this king is yet unknown ;
but as two of this dynasty that ^^^
have been identified are at Abusir, Fig. 39.— Cylinder (B. Mus.).
it seems not unlikely that the
others are included among the nine of that group.
Unas, however, was buried at Sakkara. Besides the
pyramid, there was special devotion in this king's reign
to the obelisk standing upon a mastaba-formed base,
dedicated to Ra, and known by the name of Ra'sep.
Both uah priests and neter hon prophets were attached
B.C 37a»-368o.l USER'KA'F 71
to it. The following are the persons holding sacred
offices belonging to the king (K), the pyramid (P), or
the Ra-obelisk (R)—
K Pehenuka (L.D. ii. 48).
K Ur'ar'na (L.D. ii. 112 a).
P Afra(M.M. loi).
P Min'hon (M.M. 199).
P Ra en kau (M.M. 313).
R,P Nen-khetf-ka (M.M. 308).
R,P Ne-ka-ankh<M.M. 311).
R,K Khnum'hotep (M.M. 312).
R,K Ptah-hotep (M.M. 314. B.R.I, vii. 3),
R,K Sennu'ankh (M.M. 316-319).
R,K Snezem'ab (M.M. 259).
R,P Dep'em'ankh (M.M. 199).
Of actual remains of this reign there are but two
cylinders ; one formerly in the Bulak Museum, stolen
in 1878, and one in the British Museum. They both
belong to the rude class of these cylinders.
(IMJ
V. 2. Sahu-ra( O VX^ >K j about 3693-3680 B.C.
Pyramid, Kha'ba, Abusir, North.
Sinai, rock stele (L. D. ii. 39 f ).
Sill (?) (G. Mus.).
Inscription, Sehel (M.I. i. 88).
Cylinders (B. Mus.; P.P. Coll. See side).
Fig. 40. — Cylinder,
i scale. (F. P. Coll.)
The pyramid of Sahura is determined to be the north
one of Abusir, by the red ochre quarry mark on one of
the blocks.
In Sinai he warred on the native tribes, and carved a
rock tablet commemorating his smiting the Menthu
(L.D. ii. 39 f.) A tablet of an official of this reign
occurs at Sehel (M.I. i. 88). The worship of Sahura
was largely carried on during this dynasty, and lasted
72 SAHU'RA [DVN. V. 7
until Ptolemaic times. The priests of Sahura (K) or
of his pyramid (P) are as follow —
P Dep'em'ankh fM.M. 198).
K Ankh*em*aka (M.M. 213).
K Ka'em'nefert (M.M. 242).
K Ptah-kha-bau (M.M. 294).
P Nen-khefef (M.M. 308).
P Sennu'ankh (M.M. 319).
K Nefer'arfnef (M.M. 324).
K Shepses*kaf*ankh(L.D. ii. 55).
K Ai'mery f ,, S.
K Ptah'bau'nefer ( ,, ).
K Ata (L. D. ii. 59 a).
K Unknown, XlXth dyn. (Serapeum stele 427).
K ,, ,, f Sarcophagus 38, Berlin).
K ,, ,, (Memphis, B.R.I. iv. 3).
K ,, „ (Serapeum stele 413).
A sill of black granite, apparently from the temple of
the pyramid, is in the Ghizeh Museum. Two steatite
cylinders are the only small remains of Sahura ; one
(in Brit. Mus.) gives his ka name and cartouche, the
other (F.P. Coll.) is figured above.
There are some lists which confirm the order of this
dynasty. That in the tomb of Ra-skhem-kha (L.D. ii.
41a) gives the kings to whom he professes to have been
attached ; but the range from Khafra to Sahura is so
long that it is hard to credit it ; the intervening reigns
that he mentions are down for 113 years in the lists of
Manetho, besides 41 years more of reigns which are
presumably interposed, though not mentioned. This
might, perhaps, be cut down to 70 years for the named
kings by arbitrary retrenchment on Menkaura's reign,
but then some years still have to be added for parts of
the reigns of Khafra and Sahura, to say nothing of the
unmentioned kings between. There is no sufficient proof
that a person might not claim to be devoted {amakh) to
deceased kings (as Ptah*bau*nefer was amakh of Khufu)
as well as to the living.
The list on a stone in Palermo states the offerings for
the feasts of four kings (R.S.D. 74) ; and the list of
priesthoods of Ptah'kha'bau (M.M. 295) gives also four
kings in order. Thus we have —
Ka-ikktmia. PaUrrnn. WiiUar faftmi. FiaA-iia-Hu.
Kha&a
Men'kau'ia
Shepseskaf Shepseskaf
Userkaf ITserkaf User'ref
Sahura Sahura Sah'ra Sahura
Nefer'ar'ka.'ra. Ka'kau Neferarkara
Nefer-ef-ra
Ra -en -user
Cylinder, formerly Bulak Mus. (M.D.
The pyramid of this king was '}iil\jjl}ifn(il'l
known S Sa, but it has not yet V>;8fe^ t ^fegA
been identified ; probably it lies at fig. 41.— Cylinder. Jscale.
Abusir.
Thy, whose celebrated tomb is at Sakkara, was keeper
of this pyramid (R.S.D. 94). The priests of the king
(K.) and of the pyramid (P) are —
P Thy(R.S.D. m).
P Akhufhetep-her(M.M. 340).
P Seden-maat(M.M. 329).
P Ptah-en-maat(M.M. leo}.
K Snezem-ab (M.M. 258).
K Ata(I_D. ii. sqa).
K Urkhuu(L.D. ii. 43).
K Ptah-kha-bau (R.S.D, 93).
K Shepses. Itaf -ankh 1
K Aimery WL.D. iL SS).
K Ptahbau'nefer J
K Ptah-iu-en (Louvte stele, c 154).
OHerings to him are mentioned on the Palermo list;
and farms are named after him in the tombs of Pehenuka
74
NEFER-AR-KA-RA
[dyn. v. f
I
(L.D. ii. 45), Aimery (L.D. ii. 49), and Semnefer, at
Gizeh.
Only one object of his reign is known, a cylinder,
formerly in the Bulak Museum, stolen in 1878. (See
M.D. 54 f.)
jp^ We here come to the most
LJ LJ l] J difficult question of the Vth
-L>^ dynasty, the assignment of
the double names which several kings then used.
Kakaa must be the same as either Nefer*ar*kaTa or
Shepses'ka'ra, as he is placed in the list of Abydos
between Sahu'ra and Nefer'f'ra. The Westcar papyrus
places him along with the first two kings of the dynasty,
and therefore he is more likely to be the same as
Nefer*ar*ka*ra ; but the matter is not certain. His
name occurs in five places, besides a scarab (which may
be later than his age by the style), and a fly.
Table of Abydos, after Sahura.
Westcar papyrus, after Sahura.
Quarry works, tomb of Thy (R.S.D. 97;.
Papyrus of accounts, Sakkara. (See Assa.)
Name of a queen, Kaka'hekenu, on a vase in
tomb of Thy (W.G. 197).
Scarabs (G. Coll. ; B. Mus.).
Fly (B. Mus.).
Also in place-names in tombs of Ptah'hotep (M.M. 353)
and Snezemab (M.M. 504, 509), and a personal name,
Kakaa'ankh (R.E. 4, 62).
Fig. 42. — Scarab
(B. Mus.).
V. 4. ShEPSES'KA'RA
(ZffiyJ
about
3660-
3653
B.C.
This king is only found on the table of
Sakkara, and on a scarab (G. Coll.). This
scarcity of remains agrees with his reign
being the shortest of the dynasty. Pro-
bably he is the same as king Suhtes of Fig. 43.~Scarab
the Palermo list of offerings (A.Z. 1885, (G. Coll.).
78) ; as that king succeeds Nefer*ar*ka*ra, and the per-
sonal names of the next two kings are both known.
B.C. 3653-3589-1 RA'EN'USER 75
V. 5. Nefer-f-ra C o J ^_ J ^^"* l^^^~^^^^
This king is miscalled Kha'nefefra in the list of
Sakkara ; but the reading of the list of Abydos, given
above, is clearly the right one by the monuments.
The pyramid of this king was known as Neter bau.
Two priests of the pyramid are known, Ra'ankh*em*a
(M.M. 283) and Seden-maat (M.M. 329) ; and two
prophets of the king, Ra'en'kau (M.M. 313) and Ptah-
kha'bau (M.M. 295). He is named on a stele of
Sen-amen (G.M. See W.G. 198) ; and a private per-
son is named after him, Nefer*f'ra*ankh (M.M. 335).
H OR 'A'KAU^^^^- r TT ^ is a name only
occurring iiif ^^ [I \ j ^ 1 three farm
names, in thev_::^^_J = — ^ tombs of Sne-
zem'ab (L.D. ii. 76), Ptah'hotep (M.M. 353), and Sem-
nefer (L.D. ii. 80 b). As all the succeeding kings of
this dynasty occur in these farm names of Snezem*ab,
there is some presumption that this was the personal
name of Nefer*f*ra.
about
V. 6. Ra 'EN 'USER
B.C.
An f I ^^0 ^/ww^ 1
Pyramid, Men'asut^ Abusir middle (L.A. 7).
Rock tablet, Sinai (L.D. ii. 152 a).
Red granite statuette (G. Miis.).
Statue (by Usertesen I.), Brit. Mus. (L.A. 9).
Alabaster vase, Berlin (L.D. ii. 39 c).
Scarabs.
Fig. 44. — Scarab
(F.P. Coll.).
These two names certainly belong to one king, as
they are both given on a statue of king An, made by
Usertesen I. ; on the belt, and on one side, An is named,
76 RA-EN-USER £dyn. v. 6.
and on the other side, Ra'en'user (L.A. 7). The
pyramid of this king is at Abusif, the middle one of
the group, as shown by red quarry marks on the stones.
The name of it was Men^asuty and it is repeatedly found
named with priesthoods ; these are marked (P), and
priesthoods of the king (K), in the list here —
P Ankh'em*aha(M.M. 213).
P Ka'emTetu (M.M. 175).
P Snezem'ab (M.M. 258).
P Seden'maat (M.M. 329),
P Ka'em'nefert (M.M. 242).
P Hapi-dua(M.M. 338).
P Ptah'kha-bau (R.S.D. 92).
P Thy (R.S.D. 94).
P Akhet-hotep (W.G. 199).
P (?) Nekhfabs, pillar (W.G. 199).
K Ptah'bau'nefer (L.D. ii. 55).
K Ata(L.D. ii. 59).
An altar of Ana'ankh (G.M.) belongs also to this
reign. A red granite statuette of this king (Fig. 45) was
found in the group of early figures at Sakkara, already
mentioned (G. Mus.). The alabaster vase bearing the
name of Ra 'en "user is one of a large class. They
are found bearing names of Khufu, Raenuser, Unas,
Pepi, and Merenra, and are so much alike that it is
hard to believe that they were made during three
different dynasties. The original site of them is un-
known, but they were probably found all together, as
it is unlikely that so many and such thin vases should
have survived in the ruins of several temples. They
may rather have come from some temple where a king
of the sixth or later dynasties had made a set for his
predecessors, and several are stated to have come from
Abydos. As there are many of Merenra, he is probably
their author.
Some scarabs bearing a fish have been attributed to
king An, whose name could be thus sufficiently written
without the signs a, n : one scarab with the title sa ra,
" son of the sun," has a good claim to this attribution,
and would be the earliest example of the use of this
title claiming descent from Ra.
■■<:■ jS3J-35e9.1 RA-EN-USER 77
There has been some uncertainty as to which pyramid
belongs to this king, as the name of Ra "user -en has been
found at the little pyramid of Riqqah, north of Zawyet
el Aryan, As Ra-en'user was a powerful king, with a
long reign, It is more likely that the large middle pyramid
of Abusir was bis rather than that of Riqqah. But in
some priesthoods named the pyramid sign is more like an
Flo. 45.— Statnetle of Ra -en -user (G. Mas.).
obelisk, which has led to the suggestion that the double
slope pyramid of Dahshur is represented (W.G. 199) ;
and it may be that the pyramid of Riqqah, which has
carving at two angles, may have been a second monu-
ment of this king bearing the same name, Men'asul.
There is a variation in the spelling of the name of
An, a name compounded with his being written as
(An-n'y)ankh, and (An'n'a)ankh (M.M. 255 ; R.E. 4).
MEN-KAU'HOR
'UUU
V. 7. Men-kau-hor / f
about 3589-3580 B.C. ^ J
Pyramid, A'Wfriuu/ (unknown).
Portrait block (R.S.D. vi, ; L.D. iii. 291, 19).
Rock tablet, Sinai (L.D. ii. 39 e).
Statuette, alabaster, Sakkara (G. Mus.).
Scarabs.
The pyramid of this king has not yet been discovered,
but many priesthoods give the name of it as Neter asut.
The priests and prophets of the king {K) and of the
pyramid (P) are as follow —
P Ptah'hotep(R.S.D. 99).
P Akhefhotep(R.S.D. 101).
P Ra-ankh-ema(M.M. 280).
P Ptah-nefer-art(M.M. 322).
P Sneferu-nefer (M.M. 395).
P Sem-nefer{M.M. 398).
P Ked-khenes {M.M: 402).
K Ati (M.M. 418).
An interesting slab of this
king has survived (Fig. 46),
having been built into a
wall of the Serapeum. It
represents Men'kau'hor
standing, holding the baton
and staff; over him flies the
vulture Nekhebt ; in front of
him is a vase on a stand and
a long bouquet of lotus ;
and above that is his name,
" Good god, lord of the two
lands, Men-kau-hor, giving
!ife like Ra." We have
already noticed the reasons
for this work being as early
as the fifth dynasty, in dis-
cussing the pyramid of Men"
kau-ra. (For the portrait, see R.S.D. vi. ; L.D. iii.
291, 19.)
In late time this king was still honoured, as on a stele
Serapeum (P. Mus.).
B.C. 3589-3536.1 MEN-KAU-HOR 79
of the period of the empire Thuthu adores Duamutf,
Kebhsenuf, and Men'kau'hor (P.R. ii. 28).
The rock tablet at Wady Maghara is small, and
partly destroyed ; but gives the ka name, Men'khau,
as well as the cartouche (L.D. ii. 39 e). An alabaster
statue of this king was in the group of royal figures
found at Sakkara (G. Mus.). Of small objects, there
are said to be three scarabs (W.G. 200).
V. 8. DAD'KA-RAf O U LJ J about 3580-3536 B.C.
AssA
a=D
>>
>>
Of these two names the equivalence is fixed by an
inscription, ** Suten bati (Ra'dad'ka) sa Ra (Assa) "
(R.S.D. 100); and by many notices of the pyramid
Nefer, with each cartouche.
Pyramid, Nefer (igUsice unknown).
Rock tablets, Wady Maghara (L.D. ii. 39 d).
at mines ,, ,, (A.Z. vii. 26).
(E.G. 536).
Hammamat (L.D. ii. 115 1).
Papyrus of accounts, Sakkara (G. Mus.).
Alabaster vase (P. Mus.). Flint paint-slab ^
(F.P. Coll.). ^^A^J.-Sfrab
Cylinder (E. Coll. ) and scarabs. ^^' ^' ^^^^'^'
The pyramid is frequently named on monuments,
both as the Nefer pyramid of Dad'ka'ra, and the same
of Assa. The prophets of it are —
Ma 'nefer (L.D. ii. 65-70).
Snefru 'nefer (R.E. ix. 3, 4).
Ra'ka'pu (M.M. 272).
Akhet'hotep (M.M. 421).
Sem 'nefer (M.M. 398).
Hesat (R.E. ix. 3).
(Unknown) (L.D. ii. 78 d).
Atush, uah (M.M. 296).
8o
DAD-KA-RA
[dtm. v. 8.
The name of Assa is frequently found in farm names,
as might be expected from his long reign (L.D. ii. 71,
76; M.M. 351, 383).
There seems to have been a greater activity in the
eastern deserts than under previous kings. Three
tablets are found in the Wady Maghara, and the long
series of inscriptions in the Wady Hammamat begins in
this reign. A portion of a stele at Wady Maghara
gives the ka name and cartouche Dad'ka*ra ; with sa Ray
the new title which began to come in general use at
this period, written after the ka name (L.D. ii. 39 d).
Another tablet was found in the same place at the
mines by Major Macdonald, which mentions the reckon-
ing of cattle, etc. (Birch in A.Z. vii. 26). Ebers
found the remains of another rock tablet in very bad
condition (E.G. 536) ; and Brugsch
reports two other tablets, which
may well be the same copied
twice (B.T. 1494, 19, 21). At
Hammamat there is an in-
scription of an official Ptah*
hotep, naming Assa (L.D. ii.
iiSl)-
Ofsmall objects, some have been
attributed to this king, which,
from their style, evidently belong
to his namesake of the XXVth
dynasty, Dad'ka'ra, Shabataka,
the Ethiopian. But several are
clearly of the early period. An
alabaster vase (P. Mus.) is dedi-
cated on ** the first festival of the
j^^ feast by the king Ra'dad'ka,
beloved of the spirits of Helio-
polis, giving life, stability, power,
expansion of heart for ever and
ever." An exquisite polished ink-
slab in fawn-coloured chert, bear-
ing his cartouche, is said to have been found in a
pottery iar at Dahshur (P.P. Coll.) (Fig. 48). A
Fig. 48.— Flint ink-slaU
(F. P. Coll.).
B.C 3580-3536] DAD'KA'RA 81
cylinder of black steatite names a prophet of Hathor
and of Net, with the ka name of the king twice re-
peated (E. Coll.). Two scarabs are also of this
early king, one plain, and one (figured above) with
scrolls.
The oldest dated papyrus was found in 1893 at Sak-
kara, near the step pyramid, by fellahin digging there.
It contains accounts of the reign of Assa ; and this, or
another found with it, has the name of Kakaa and of
the Set'ab'ra obelisk. Unhappily, having been found
by natives, it was separated and sold in fragments, which
have reached the Ghizeh Museum, Prof. Naville, and
M. Bouriant.
This reign is also signalised by the earliest well -dated
papyrus composition, the Proverbs of Ptah'hetep. Al-
though the actual copy that we possess (Bibliotheque
Nationale, Paris) is probably of the Xllth dynasty, it
appears to have been copied from a more cursive
original (S.B.A. xiii. 65), which might be of the date
of the actual composition ; and there seems no reason
to question the statement that Ptah'hetep, in the
reign of Assa, wrote this work. He seems to have
been an aged tutor of the king, who received royal
encouragement to place his wisdom and courtesy
before the world. The position of Ptah'hetep was
of the highest ; he was ** son of the king, of his body,"
and therefore probably uncle to king Assa, his pupil.
These proverbs are so well known in various trans-
lations, literal and metrical, that, as they belong more
to literature than to history, we need not quote them
here.
—6
•CMB
about 3536-3503 B-C-
pyramid, Nefer asut, Sakkara.
Mastabat el Fariun, Sakkara.
Rock tablet, Elephant
Alabaster 1
Scarabs.
:s(B.M.; F.M.).
No second name ' has been found which can be re-
ferred to Unas ; and it seems a.s if he had retained his
personal name throughout life, and never adopted a
throne name compounded with ra.
The pyramid of Unas was found at Sakkara in 1881
(Fig. go). The entrance is by means of a sloping
passage from the north. This reaches ~a small hori-
zontal chamber, and a passage, which is built of
granite shortly before reaching three portcullises, and
for some way beyond them. It ends at a square
chamber covered with inscriptions. From the west
end of this chamber a short passage leads to another
chamber, more than half inscribed, containing the
basalt sarcophagus. And from the east end another
short passage leads to a cross-passage with three
small chambers. In a corner of the latter was a heap
of small wooden instruments, handles of knives,
axes, etc.; these had probably served for the cere-
monies of interment, and were left here on the same
principle that the long texts of the funeral service
were carved on the walls (Rec. iii. 177 ; iv, 41).
Beside the pyramid, which was undoubtedly for this
king, the Mastabat el Far&un {M.M. 361), at the south
end of the pyramid field of Sakkara, has his name in
the quarry marks on the backs of the blocks. This
building' is a rectangular mass, like the usual tnastabas,
but larger; it was evidently cased with fine masonry,
which has now all disappeared, leaving rough steps.
The entrance is from the north, as in the pyramids',
A sloping passage turns horizontal at the bottom,
passes three slides for portcullises, and lastly «:q)ens
into a chamber running east and west, with a ridge
roof. From the west end opens another chamber with
barrel roof And from the east end of the south side
IS a short horizontal passage, with four recesses and
a small chamber. The arrangement is closely like
that of a pyramid ; and every part is equalled in that
of Unas at Sakkara, though rather differently arranged.
Possibly this structure may have been the tomb of a
successor of Unas, who used some old blocks marked
with his name. The pyramid of Teta, who followed
him, is known ; but no tomb of User-kaTa, the next
but one, has yet been found, so that the Mastabat el
FarAun may perhaps have been built for him.
84 UNAS [DVN. V. 9.
On referring to the priests of Unas, there is, however,
a curious discrepancy. One of them, Akhet'hotep,
has two steles in his tomb ; on one stele he is called
" prophet of the Unas pyramid Nefer asut^^ ; but on the
other he is "prophet of the Unas pyramid Asui
asutt" {?), written with five as signs. If this is not a
mere error, it may be that Unas had two pyramids
(as we have seen to be probably the case with Sneferu
and Menkaura) ; and so the inscribed pyramid and the
Mastabat el Far5.un may both belong to him. The
prophets of the pyramid are —
Dep'em'ankh (M.M. 195).
Ra'hent (princess) (M.M. 360).
Sabu (M.M. 375).
Ptah'shepses (M.M. 377).
Akhet'hotep (M.M. 422-424).
It appears that he built a temple to Hathor at
Memphis, as Dep'em'ankh was ** prophet of the house
of Hathor, who loves Unas" (R.S.D. 105 ; M.M. 195).
The tablet of Elephantine (P.S. xii.) is finely cut on
a large rounded mass of granite, in the path to the
village, near the ferry place. It is interesting for
giving a remarkable spelling of Khnumu with three
rams ; and it served as a nucleus for four inscriptions
of later kings. It is the earliest dated inscription at
the Cataracts.
An inscription at Hammamat mentions a man named
Unas'ankh ; but it is therefore probably later than Unas
(L.D. ii. 115m; G.H. 7).
The Turin papyrus is in good condition at the end
of this dynasty, and gives the last three kings and
their years of reigning. The numbers do not coincide
with those of Manetho : for Men'kau'hor the difference
between eight and nine years may easily be owing to
omitting the months ; for Dad'ka'ra the forty-four
years instead of twenty-eight is a difference too large
to be accounted for by any co-regency ; but for Unas
the difference of thirty-three and thirty years may be
easily due to three years' co-regency with his pre-
decessor. In the tomb of Snezem'ab his relations to
B.O 3536-3503-] UNAS 85
Assa and Unas suggest that their reigns may have
been contemporary (R.S.D. 102). At the end of this
dynasty, after Unas, the Tyrin papyrus gives a sum-
mary of kings ; but the entry only shows that the
reckoning was given from Mena to this point, both the
numbers and the years being lost.
Of small remains there are two fine alabaster vases
(B.M., from Abydos ; and F.M.). The scarabs are
commoner than those of any king before this ; but there
is no variety or interest in them.
The fifth dynasty is marked by its priestly character
from the first. Its origin appears to have been a re-
assertion of the Heliopolitan element, which may have
had a Mesopotamian origin, and which took the form
of a usurpation by the priests of Ra in the Delta, who
then established the claim to divine descent from Ra,
which was maintained by all the later kings of the
land. And this priestly tendency is shown by the
great attention to religious foundations, there being a
dozen or more priests known of each of the earlier
kings of the dynasty. The same character is seen in
the absence of foreign wars and of great monuments ;
the kings retained their hold of the Sinaitic peninsula,
but the main attention of the age was given to fine
tombs and religious foundations.
The productions of the time show much falling off
from the splendid style of previous reigns. The
masonry is less careful, the forms and colouring are
becoming formal ; and vivacious as some of the work
is, — as in the tomb of Thy, — it is yet miserably flat
and coarse when compared with the brilliant and
vital representations in the sculptures of the previous
dynasty. Declension is evident on all sides, and the
work, large and small, is done more for the sake of its
effect than for the consciousness of its reality.
86
THE SIXTH DYNASTY
[DYK. VI
CHAPTER V
The Sixth Dynasty
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Manbtho.
Otho6s
• ••
Fios
Methusflfis
Fiops
Menthesufis
NitOkris
Lists.
Teta
User'ka'ra
(Mery'ra. A.
Pepy. S.
/Mer'en'ra
\Mehti*em'sa*f
Nefer'ka'ra
{Mer'en'ra
Mehti'em'sa'f
Neter'ka'ra
fMen'kaTa
\Net'aqerti
Monuments.
Teta
Aty
{Mery'ra
Pepy (I.)
/Mer'en'ra
\^ Mehti'em'sa'f
{Nefer'ka'ra
Pepy (II.)
r Mer'en'ra
\ Mehti'em'sa'f
Total stated 203, actually
Years.
M.
T.P.
30
• • •
• • •
6
53
20
7
4
95
9-
I
I
• • •
12
• • •
• • •
798"
B.C.
about
3503
3473
3467
3447
3443
3348
3347
3335
In this dynasty a new and more vigorous line of kings
comes forward. The greater number of monuments,
and the wide extent of country over which they are
found, show this plainly. There is some uncertainty
as to the end of the dynasty, but the greater part is
well assured.
B.C 350^3473-] TETA. 87
VI. I. Teta ( ^ IJ 1 about 3503-3473 ^c.
Pyramid, Dad'asuif Sakkara (Rec.
V. i).
Rock graffito, Hat-nub (F.H. iv. xv.).
Alabaster vase, Abydos (G.M.; M.A.
1464).
Alabaster lid (B.M.; P.Sc. 57). Fig. 51.— Alabaster jar
Ud. Scale }.
It appears that Teta never adopted a throne name,
but, like Unas, only used his personal name through-
out his reign ; even in his pyramid no other name is
found but Teta. His ka name, se'hetep'fauiy is only
found in a graffito at Hat-nub (F.H. xv.).
The pyramid is arranged in exactly the same manner
as that of Unas, excepting that the three small
chambers have been thrown into one. But it has
suffered far more from the spoilers, who, in search of
treasure, have largely destroyed the walls of the
chamber at the end of the long passage. Probably
this was one of the first pyramids opened by such
plunderers ; as they have burnt and broken their way
through the granite portcullises, instead of cutting a
w^ay over them as elsewhere, and they have here
smashed the walls, and so gained the experience
w^hich showed them that it was useless to search
thus in other pyramids. The texts which cover the
walls show a decrease in the size of writing, from
those of Unas ; a change which was carried further in
the small hieroglyphs of Pepy. The subjects are more
religious, and less of a direct ritual, than those of Unas,
though many passages remain identical (Rec. v. i).
The priests of the pyramid are —
• Sabu (M.M. 375).
Ptah'shepses (M.M. 377).
Hapa (R.E. ix. 3).
Asa (P.R. ii. 76V
Mera (tomb at Sakkara).
(Unknown) (L. D. ii. ii6c).
88 TETA [DVK. VI. •.
while
Ra'hent (M.M. 360) is prophetess of the Afert of Tetsu,
The name of Teta occurs on a part of the coffin of
Apa*ankh (Berlin, L.D. ii. 98; see M.G. 98). As
apparently a private name, it is written in a square, with
a seated man determinative, twice over in the alabaster
quarry of the Xllth dynasty at Hat-nub (P. A. xlii.).
And it again occurs as a private name at Zauyet el
Maiyitin (L.D. ii. no o, r). As it is, however, a
common name in early times, these are probably
independent of the king's name. Written in a car-
touche in a compound name, Teta'ankh, it is among
the graffiti of El Kab (L.D. ii. 117; A.Z. xiii. 70).
Manetho preserves a tale that this king was killed by
his guards, and as a weak reign succeeds him, this is
not unlikely.
Of small remains there are very few. An alabaster
vase found at Abydos (M.A. 1464) gives the name
of "Teta beloved by Dadet," with a figure of Osiris
Ba'neb'dadet with the ram*s head. This, and the
other vase of Unas found at Abydos, suggests that all
this class of vases with royal names have come from
there. A lid with his name, figured above, is in
B. Mus. No scarabs or cylinders are known of him.
VI. a. USHR-K.-K. ( ^ P U~] ^"^^^'^'^
Aty
a
The name of User'ka'ra occurs in the list of Abydos,
without any equivalent in the list of Sakkara, and the
Turin papyrus is here defective. No other trace of his
name has been found. But a king Aty, who apparently
reigned for a short time, is recorded in an inscription
of his first year at Hammamat, where he sent for stone
to build his pyramid. As he appears to belong to this
»C. 3473-3447'l
USER-KA-RA
W^
tt
89
age, it is conjectured that he is the same as User'ka'ra.
There being very few throne names in these dynasties
left unfixed to a personal name, this conjecture is not
improbable (R.S.D. 149).
The inscription at Hammamat mentions the visit of
an official, Ptah'en'kau, with bands of archers and
workmen, to bring stone for building the pyramid Bau
of king Aty. And adjoining this is the name of the
noble Atyankh (?), the last part of the name having
been destroyed (L.D. ii. iisf ; G.H. vii.).
VI. 3. Mery-ra Cq \\\^
ID
about 3467-3447
B.C.
Pepy (I.)
Fig. 52.— Scarab
(M. Coll.).
Pyramid, Mefrnefer, Sakkara (Rec. v. 157).
Jamb of doorway, etc, Tanis (P.T. PI. i.).
Sphinx (Louvre) ?, Tanis.
Jamb of door, Bubastis (N.B. xxxii.).
Rock stele, Wady Maghara (L.D. ii. 116 a).
Tablet of pottery, Khankah (B.T. 121 2).
Rock inscriptions, Hammamat (L.D. ii. 115).
Rock graffiti, Hat-nub (P. A. xlii.).
Piece of inscription, Koptos.
Statuette, Hieraconpolis (Rec. x. 139).
Rock inscriptions, Silsileh (P.S. 539, 630).
Rock inscription. Elephantine (P.S. 309).
„ ,, Sehel (M.L i. 87).
Canopic jars from pyramid (G. Mus.; Rec
V. 158).
Statuettes (A.Z. xxiii. 78).
Vases (Rec v. 158; CM. ii. 188; P.T.L xii.).
Plaque (F. P. Coll.).
Cylinders and scarabs.
Queetiy Mery'ra'ankh'fies (M.A. 523).
SonSf Mer'en'ra Mehti*em*saf.
Nefer'ka'ra Pepy H.
This king" has left more monuments, large and small,
than any other ruler before the Xllth dynasty ; and he
appears to have been one of the most active and vigor-
ous of all the early monarchs.
90 MERY-RA (dyk. vi. 3.
His pyramid was known as Men'nefer, and was
opened at Sakkara in 1880. It is of the same type
"as those of Unas and Teta, except that the eastern
chamber is all one, and is not divided into a cross
passage and three small chambers. The walls have
been greatly destroyed, and the fragments half filled
the chambers ; many of these pieces covered with
inscriptions have been brought to Europe, from the
heaps which lay about at the pyramid. An entnuioe
had been forced by mining downward in the middle of
the pyramid, and breaking up the deep beams of stCMie.
which form the roof of the sepulchral chamber; aniH
this is now a clear section of a pyramid, showing* the
methods of construction. Not only were there sloping'
roof beams, of about five or six feet in depth, meeting
above in a ridge ; but these beams were so long*, and
went so far into the wall, that their centre of gravuy
was well within the wall -face, and hence they acted ks
cantilevers, resting on the wall without any need /of
touching each other at the top. Not content with 6ne
such roof, three roofs of this construction were built
thus, one over the other, in contact ; in this manner
there was an ample surplus of strength. The spiteful
destruction of this pyramid is far beyond what would
be done by treasure-seekers. Every cartouche in the
entrance passage is chopped out ; and the black basalt
sarcophagus has been elaborately wrecked, rows of
grooves have been cut in it, and it has been banged to
pieces, breaking through even a foot thickness of tough
basalt.
Sunk in the floor is a granite box, in which were
placed the alabaster canopic jars and vases (Rec. v.
158). The lid of the box had no fastening, but was
merely a slab, a double cubit square.
The inscriptions that remain in this pyramid are of
the same type as those of Teta (Rec. v. 157, vii. 145,
viii. 87). The body of the masonry, instead of being
of hewn stone, is merely built of walls of flakes, filled in
with loose chips ; showing the feeble work in these
later pyramids (Fig. 53).
ITie prophets of Pepy are
to the pyramid Mennefer
numerous. They belong
(P), to the Het-ka, or
m^M:
:hips forming the mas
tap of Ihe chflmber n
dwetKng of the ha (K), and to the place called Meri
(M). In one <
a prophet, and this is
P Mera
P Adu
P Zauts
P Una
P Shesha
P Mery-ra-ptalr
P Pepy-na
M,P Sesa
P (unknown)
»t^rP,M Assa'kha . . .
K AtB
! named instead of
Tomb,
(L.D. il. nag).
(L.D. n. 114 g).
(M.A. No. 5!o).
(M.A. 532).
(M.A. 532).
Sakkara
Silsikh
Zauyer el Mav
92 MERY-RA low. vi. 3-
K Kaka Zauyet el Maiyitin (L.D. ii. iion).
K (unknown) „ (L.D. ii. ink).
? Uha Posno coll. (W.G. 210).
? (unknown) SharonanearMinia (Acad. 1885, 135).
And an overseer (mer) of the sculptors of the pyramid,
named Theta, is recorded at Hammamat (L.D. 115 c).
Of buildings of Pepy there remain a door jamb of
red granite with deeply cut hieroglyphs, and a block
of granite, at Tanis (P.T. i.) ; another door jamb at
Bubastis (N.B. xxxii.) ; and a fragment in limestone
from Koptos. He is stated to have erected an obelisk
at Heliopolis (Pliny), and the foundation of the temple
of Denderah is also referred to him in a Ptolemaic
inscription there. It seems, therefore, that he was a
great builder, as we might gather from the number of
quarry inscriptions of his reign. A grand stele was
carved by him on the rocks of the Wady Maghara,
recording an expedition there in his eighteenth year
(L.D. ii. 116 a).
One of the most important monuments of his reign
appears to be the great sphinx in red granite from
Tanis, now in the Louvre, and companion to a broken
one still t'n situ. The original king's name is in a
cartouche on the base, at the right side of the sphinx ;
and, though carefully erased, yet traces of three hiero-
glyphs remain, as reed «, an upright sign (column
an ?) and a drill cap t. These show the scale of the
signs, and indicate that the whole cartouche held
between twenty and thirty signs. Few such long- com-
pound cartouches are known except of Pepy L, who
often employed such ; and the signs would agree well
to ^^ Heru mery tauiy beloved of such and such gods,
Pepy, living like the sun." Though the attribution is
not proved, it is at least a very probable one ; and if
accepted, we have here the earliest sphinx known, and
a fine portrait of Pepy. Unhappily, no photographs of
the Louvre antiquities are available. ^
At Elephantine he added a line of his name and
titles above the stele of Unas (P.S. 309) ; the car-
touche appears to have been altered, and shows traces
B.C. 34«7-3447-l MERY'RA 93
of a name, Ra .... nefer, which cannot be well
referred to any king earlier than Pepy, unless to
Nefer 'f'ra, which is hardly likely. At Sehel occurs an
inscription of a man named Pepy ankh (M.I. i. 87). At
Silsileh there is a single cartouche, Pepy, not far above
the river, on the rocks in the narrow strait (P.S. 539) ;
also an inscription of a prophet of his pyramid, whose
name is lost (P.S. 630),
In the quarry of Hat 'nub, in the desert behind Tell
el Amarna, ten miles from the Nile, are many inscrip-
tions of Pepy. One is dated in the twenty-fifth year,
another is at the entrance to the quarry, and a third
was carved by a noble named Tehuti'nekht, who was
governor of the Oryx nome. Of the same region is
Beba, at Shekh Said, who was " heq hat Pepy.^^
At Hammamat are many inscriptions, carved by the
workmen who were sent to quarry stone. The largest
(L.D. ii. ii5g) is of special value as naming a Sed
festival in his eighteenth year ; and this festival re-
curred at intervals of thirty years, or one week's shift
of the heliacal rising of Sirius. It has been supposed
that kings held a Sed festival on the completion of thirty
years of rule ; yet this Sed festival in the eighteenth
year points to its being purely astronomical in that age.
There is another inscription of the workmen, recording
the names of the chiefs of the parties (115 b, c) ;
another of Meryra on the throne as king of Upper
Egypt, and Pepy on the throne as king of Lower Egypt,
back to back, naming the Sed festival (115 a) ; another
with Pepy adoring Min (115, e) ; another with only the
names of the king (115, i); and lastly, a tablet of the
chief of the works, Meryra'ptah'meryankh (115 k).
The graffiti inscriptions at El Kab are entirely of
private persons, many of whom are named after Pepy ;
as Pepyankh (L.D. ii. 117 g, h, i, k, 1) ; Meryra'senb
(ii7r); and Meryra'ankh (ii7p, q, s, u, v). See
also A.Z. xiii. 70.
In this reign we meet for the first time with a con-
tinuous historical document, which is of great interest
as showing what the activities of the Egyptians were in
94 MERY-RA [wtn. vl %,
travel and conquest in this age. The biographical
inscription of Una was found in his tomb at Abydos
(now in G.M.), and it describes the various labours of
his life (R.S.D. vii. viii.; A.Z. xx. 2). He begins by
mentioning that first landmark of an Egyptian boy's
life, the being girded, or wearing a waist-cloth ;
equivalent to being "put into trousers" to an English
boy. This was under king Teta ; and the short reign
of User'ka'ra was passed over in his youth. As he
grew up, various offices, supervision of the pyramid
priests, and a judgeship were conferred upon him, and
he came into great favour with Meryra. The first
honour done to him was the supplying of the fine stone-
work from the royal quarries of Turrah, near Cairo, for
his tomb at Abydos ; he specifies the white stone
sarcophagus, its cover, the great stele or false door for
the shrine, its settings, two foundation blocks, and altar
of offering (S.B.A. xi. 316). He took the evidence
alone at the trial of the queen Amtes, and wrote the
report with one other judge. The royal favour, which
gave him facilities of transport for his tomb work, was
next extended by setting him over a great raid on the
Amu Bedawin to the east of Egypt. Tens of thousands
of soldiers were levied from South and North Egypt,
and — like the Sudani regiments of the present day —
from the negroes of Aarthet, Maza, Aam, Wawat,
Kaau, and men of the land of Thamehu. Maspero
(R.C. 1892, 364) identifies Aarthet as the region from
Derr to Dongola, or Upper Nubia on the west. Aam
is between Aarthet and Aswan, or Lower Nubia on the
west side ; and Wawat opposite to that on the east.
The Thamehu are identified with the people of the
oases. The whole management of the expedition, and
of the officials employed, seems to have been in the
hands of Una, and his success in it was the great event
of his life. After that, he went on five lesser expedi-
tions, to keep the land in subjection ; and he was made
governor of the south country, from Aswan northward,
by king Meren'ra. He then was employed to bring
the special stone for the pyramid of Meren'ra. From
B.C 3467-34 7«1 MERY-RA 95
Abhat he brought the sarcophagus of black granite,
and a top stone for the pyramid ; from Elephantine he
brought the granite false door and its sill, and the
granite portcullises and their settings, for the interior
of the pyramid ; also the granite doorway and sills for
the exterior temple. And then he was sent to Hat '.nub
to cut out and bring the great alabaster table of offer-
ings. We now know the exact quarry at which he
worked, where the names of Meren*ra still remain,
which were probably cut on this occasion. Time ran
short before the subsidence of the inundation, and he
built a boat during the seventeen days of the month
Epiphi, in which he was extracting the stone ; he
brought it down, but the dry ground was already
appearing when he reached Memphis, and he could not
safely bring the boat over the inundated ground. This
fact shows the season of the month Epiphi in that age,
from which — by the shifting of the calendar round the
seasons in each Sothis period of 1460 years— it is
possible to get an approximate date for the reign of
Meren'ra at about 3350 B.C. (P.S. 20). After having
thus provided the great stonework for the interior, Una
went shortly afterwards to excavate five canals in the
south, and build vessels in the land of Wawat to bring
down still more granite, for which he was supplied with
acacia-wood by the chiefs of the Nubian lands Aarthet,
Aam, and Maza, and did the whole work in a year.
This long inscription of fifty lines gives our first clear
view of the active, self-satisfied Egyptian officials who
did such great and lasting works for their country.
The family relations of Pepy are given in a tablet
found at Abydos (M.A. 523). From this we learn that
the queen was named Meryra'ankh'nes (or Pepyankh*
nes in another tablet, M.A. 524) ; and that Meren*ra
was the eldest son, and Nefer'ka'ra Pepy II. the second
son. Meren'ra died young, and was thus succeeded by
his brother. The queen's father and mother were
named Khua and Nebt, and her brother Za'u. She also
appears as wife of Meryra and mother of Nefer'ka'ra
in a tablet at Wady Maghara (L.D. ii. 116 a).
96
HERY-RA
Of small remains there is a statuette of black granite
found at Hieraconpolis (now in G. Mus., Rec. x. 139) ;
and portions of two statuettes of Mery-ra, one in hard-
stone, and one in green glaze (A.Z. xxiii. 78). Some
vases of alabaster are in the Louvre, one of them
naming the Sed festival (C. M. ii. 188, 6) ; and a lid in
England {P.T. xii, 5). Also a monkey vase in Vienna
(W.G. 213). A pottery tablet with Pepy's name and
WMmFa
titles was found at Khankah (B.T. 1212) ; and a green
glazed pottery tablet bears the name, "Ra-mery beloved
of Min" (F.P. Coll.), Several cylinders of copper and
of store are known (Paris, Posno, B, Mus., Kennard
and Tylor Collections) ; and several scarabs.
The granite altar in Turin with the name of Pepy is
certainly of late date (S.B.A. Trans, iii., 110-112).
B.C. 3447-3443-1
MER-EN-RA
97
VI. 4. Mer'en-ra ( O
C
AA/WNA
]
about
3447-3443
B.C.
MeHTI'EM'SA'F
ChM
Pyramid, Kha'nejer^ Sakkara (Rec. ix.
177)-
Steles, Aswan (P.S. 81, 338; Rec. xv.
H7)-
Stele, Hammamat (L.D. ii. 115 d).
Vases, alabaster (B. F. and G. Muss.).
Box, ivory, Louvre (CM. ii. 188, 7).
Scarab (F. P. Coll.).
Fjg. 55.— Vase (Flor.
Mus.).
The pyramid of this king was found at Sakkara in
1880. It is constructed like that of his father Meryra.
We have already noticed the preparation of the
materials in the preceding section, when stating the
work of Una. The spoilers have violently ruined
the pyramid, and destroyed some of the walls of the
chambers \ but the black granite sarcophagus is yet
in good condition. The inscriptions are mainly the
same as those in the other pyramids (A.Z. xix. i ; Rec.
ix. 177, X. I, xi. i).
The body of Merenra was found in the chamber,
despoiled of all its wrappings, but in good preserva-
tion ; it is now in the Ghizeh Museum. From the body
we learn that he died young ; even the youthful lock of
hair is said to be still on the head (W.G. supp. 22).
This agrees with Merenra's short reign of 4 years
(T.P.) ; the 7 years of Manetho is unlikely, as his
brother was only six when he succeeded him (Manetho).
Considering that the two sons of Meryra were born
about 10 years and 2 years before his death, it is very
1—7
9d MER'EN-RA [dvk. tl 4
unlikely that he reigned 53 years as Manetho says ;
the 20 years of the Turin papyrus is far more likely.
We may then, from all considerations of reigns and
ages, lay out the family chronology in this approxi-
mate order, assuming that the eldest son was usually
born when a king was about twenty years of age.
n.c. about
3499 o Aty bom.
3479 20 son bom=o Meryra born.
3473 26 succeeded.
3467 32 died. 12 succeeded.
3459 20 son bom=o Merenra bom.
1. (o Neferkara
3449 30 son bom = | bon^
3447 32 died 12 succeeded.
3443 16 died 6 succeeded.
3349 roodied.
As Una records that he was girded under Teta, say
at 10 years old, his age during these reigns might
be about 12-18 under Aty, 18-38 under Meryra, when
he made his great expedition, 38-42 under Merenra,
during which time he finished the sculpture of his
tomb, having already built it before his expedition.
Then after forty-two he probably settled down in
private nobility, while others took the lead during the
minority of Neferkara, as he does not allude to that
at all.
Several prophets of the pyramid of Merenra are
known. Una himself held this office, as we learn by
a stele from Abydos. The excavation there having
been left to natives, we do not know the original places
of the steles and inscriptions, and all such records are
lost for ever ; but the high titles of the stele (M.A.
529) make it practically certain that it belongs to the
same person as the long inscription.
Ahy
Una
Una ^another)
Una (uncertain)
Pepi'na
Adu
Sakkara
Abydos
>i
>>
>»
Khenoboskion
(M.A.F. i. 204),
(M.A. 529J.
(M.A. S33h
(M.A. 541).
(M.A. 528).
(L.D. ii. 113 g).
Za uta
ft
(L.D. ii. 114 g).
B.C. 3447-3443-1 MER-EN'RA 99
A Stele on the rock at Aswan records the visit of
the king there to receive the submission of the chiefs
of Arthet and Wawat in the fifth year (Rec. xv.
147J ; and another stele (L.D. ii. ii6b; more in P.S.
338) shows an official adoring the king with the two
royal names. A third stele is dated in the fourth year
(P.S. 81). And at Hammamat is a stele with the
royal names (L.D. ii. 115 d).
In the last reign we considered the inscription of
Una which relates to his raids on the Amu under
Meryra, and his bringing of granite for the pyramid of
Merenra. We now turn to another invaluable bio-
graphical inscription, which relates mainly to this reign,
but partly to the next. It is on the front of a tomb in the
cliffs of Aswan (S.T. ; R.C. 1892, 358), and records the
deeds of a governor of the South named Herkhuf. His
father, Ara, seems to have been the immediate successor
of Una in the Nubian affairs ; as he begins by recording
that Merenra sent him with his father on an expedi-
tion to Aam (or Lower Nubia, on the west) to explore
("find roads") for seven months; they returned with
large quantities of tribute, or plunder. Then Merenra
sent Herkhuf a second time alone ; he pushed through
to Arthet, or Upper Nubia, making an unheard-of
circuit of the western countries, during eight months,
returning with great tribute. A third time he was
sent, ^starting from Asyut, across the desert, and found
the king of Aam (Lower Nubia) on an expedition
against the Themhu, **at the west point of heaven,"
i.e. in the western oases : the Egyptians followed the
Aam in their raid, and acted so vigorously with them
that they thanked all the gods for the king. Having
then appeased the chief of Aam, the Egyptians went
through Aam to Arthet (or Western Upper Nubia),
and returned through Sethu and Wawat on the eastern
bank, finding the people all in peace. From these
countries they brought 300 asses laden with incense,
ebony, leopards' skins, elephants' teeth, etc. For when
the tribes saw the soldiers of Aam with the Egyptians,
they gave tribute of oxen, goats, and all kinds of pro-
lOo MER'EN'RA [dyn. vi. 4.
duce. On the return of Herkhuf in triumph, the king
sent an official up the river to meet him, with a boat
laden with delicacies, as a refreshment after the
arduous campaign. In the identification of the lands
mentioned, Maspero's view has been followed (R.C.
1892, 358) ; but Schiaparelli places these countries even
farther south. Another curious document is also
placed on this tomb, apparently resulting from another
expedition in the beginning of the reign of Nefer'ka'ra.
It is dated in the second year of that king, and was
a royal rescript addressed to Herkhuf in reply to de-
spatches sent from him while he was in the South,
probably at Aswan. It begins by saying that Herkhuf
having returned as far as Aam in peace, with his
soldiers, and brought all good tribute, and this Deng,
who is a dancer of god (performing some remarkable
religious dance?) from the Land of Spirits, like the
Deng that was brought by Ba'ur'dedu from Punt in
the time of Assa, and all his work being very excellent ;
— therefore his majesty orders that when the Deng
goes with Herkhuf, attendants shall watch him that he
fall not in the water, and shall sleep with him that he
run not away ; for his majesty (who was then eight
years old) loves to see this Deng more than all other
tribute. And if Herkhuf keeps him safe and sound,
he shall be more honoured than Ba'ur'dedu was by
Assa ; and all provisions and necessaries are to be
furnished for him on the journey to the court (see also
A.Z. XXX. 78; A.R. 1894).
We learn from this that even in the time of Assa
expeditions had been sent to Punt, and distant pro-
ducts had been brought back. We gather also that
the Egyptians established a considerable hold on
Upper Nubia, and drafted soldiers from there and
received tribute ; while from time to time exploratory
parties were sent out to examine fresh districts, and to
collect by force or favour all that they could.
Of minor remains of Merenra there are some
alabaster vases, from Elephantine (M.D. 54 g) and
Abydos (M.A. 1465) (both in G.M.), and others in
»-C. 344^■J34B.1
MER-EN-RA
Florence (CM. iv. 424, 24) and London. An ivory
box with his name is in the Louvre (CM. ii, 188, 7).
And one scarab of his, in blue g'lazed pottery (Fig. e6),
is known (F.P. Coll.).
There is some doubt as to the reading of
the second cartouche ; the first sign in it has
been variously read, Hor, Sokar, or Mehti ;
and as the Greek version of it is Methus-
aphis, it seems indicated that we should read
it as Mehti -em 'sa-f.
Pepy (IL)
about 3443-
3348 B.C.
Pyramid, Men'ankh, Sakkara (Rcc. xii.
Stele, WadyMaghara(L.D. ii. 116 a).
Graffiti, Hat-nub (F.H. iiL iv.).
Sculptures, Koptos.
Stele, Elephantine (P.S. 311).
Base of alabaster figure (W.G. zis).
Granite mortar {G. Mus.).
Limeatonejar (G. M.) (B.R. i. 10, 5).
Vase lid, Elephantine (M.D. 54 gV
Vase lid (F.P. Coll.).
Cylinder (M.D. 54 f.). Scarabs.
The pyramid of this king, named Men-ankh, was
found at Sakkara in 1881. Its construction is the
same as that of the previous pyramids ; but the
inscriptions are in smaller writing, and are longer.
The texts are mainly already known in the other
pyramids, and are partly religious, partly of ritual.
The walls have been considerably destroyed by treasure-
seekers. The granite sarcophagus remains in good
condition ; and the lid has not been overthrown, but
I02 PEPY II [OVH. VI. 5.
is only pushed aside on to the bench of brickwork
which existed in all these pyramids, between the
sarcophagxis and the wall, to support the lid until
the closing of the sarcophagus.
Some prophets of this pyramid are known —
Adu Khenoboskion (L. D. iL 1 13 g)
Zauta „ ^L. D. ii. 1 14 g)
Aba Deir el Gebrawi (A. R. 1893, 14 ; Rec xiii. 67^
Zau ,, (A.R. 1893, 14; Rec xiii. 66}
At Wady Maghara is a very fine stele, which was
carved in his second year ; and as he began his reign
at the age of six, it was done during his minority.
His mother is prominently placed upon it, in name, in
her royal connection, and in figure ; and from the form
of her titles it appears as if she were formally regent
at the time (L.D. ii. 116 a).
At Elephantine is a fine stele adjoining that of king
Unas (P.S. 311) ; this mentions the second ^Sl^^ festival
of the king, agreeing with his long reign, in which he
had three or four such festivals.
In the alabaster quarry of Hat-nub, opened by Khufu,
are many inscriptions of this king ; three tablets with
his names have writing of several lines, one dated in
the sixth year ; and a deeply-cut group of the royal
names is near the entrance. It is these inscriptions
which name the place as Hat-nub (F.H. iii. iv.).
At Koptos two slabs of sculpture of this king indicate
that he built in the temple (Fig. 58).
Of private tombs mentioning this king there are
several. Mery at Kauamat acted under the orders of
Neferkara (L.D. ii. 113 f). At Aswan Herkhuf gives the
royal letter about the Deng dancer, and as the boy-
king was then only eight years old, the subject was
likely to captivate his fancy (S.T. 19). Saben was an
official connected with the pyramid (Rec. x. 184) ; and
Nekhu, also at Aswan, has the name of the king in his
tomb (S.B.A. X. 37). At Sakkara Saui'khu is priest of
the pyramid of the king (M.A.F. i. 199). At Girgeh
Sesa was represented in his tomb adoring Nefer'ka'ra
(A.Z. XX. 124). And at El Kab a piece of limestone
stele names the king (A.Z. xx, 12a.).
Fio. 58.— Slab from Koptos;
A high lady at the court, Nebt, named also Beba,
held offices under this king (M.A. 527) ; and Khua had
a son named Nefer-kaTa*ankh {M.A, 525).
Of small remains of this king there are a base of a
seated figure in alabaster, found at Sakkara (W.G.
215) ; a large black
granite mortar with his
name belonged to a king's .
brother, Amenisenb (G. [1
Mus.) ; a vase lid from \
Elephantine (M.D.
54 g) ; a limestone jar
(inG.M.; B.R. i. :o, 5);
and many scarabs, which
are commoner than those of any other king of the old
kingdom (Fig. 59)- Several others, however, attributed
to Pepy II., certainly belong to Shabaka of the XXVth
of Pepy
104 PEPY II [DYM. VI. 8.
dynasty, and to other kings with the common name
Neferkara. In many museums are alabaster vases
with the cartouche Nefer'ka'ra ; probably one or two
may be genuine, though I have not noticed such as
yet ; but most of them have forged names on genuine
vases, the very shapes of which show that they were
made in the XlXth dynasty rather than in the VI th
dynasty.
VI. 6. Mer-en-ra \ ^ ^.^^^ ^ — ST — oiftMo "N
MEHTI-EM-SAF/f Q ^ ^ ^ "'"""'" I
about 3348-3347 B.C. V /wwNA >^=^,Eyc^ >^.=^ Jl
That these two names belong to the same king is
certain, as the combined cartouche given above is found
in the list of Abydos. In Manetho likewise a Menthe-
sufis succeeds the second Pepy. The Turin papyrus
has lost the names of this part, but a fragment with
the numerals can be identified by the unique reign of
Nefer*ka*ra, for over ninety years. The following
reign is but one year, and probably refers to this king.
No monuments or contemporary remains of him are
known.
VI. 7. Neter'ka-ra f O LJ 1
This name occurs next to the above in the Abydos
list ; but there is no trace of it elsewhere.
VI. 8. Men-ka-ra (^Q CS U ^ ^^°3"*5 |347-
C/VWVSA f| ^ ili ^
(I w i
This last reign of the dynasty (according to Manetho)
is one of the most questionable. Men-ka-ra succeeds
B.C. 3347-3335«l MEN'KA'RA 105
Neterkara in the list of Abydos, and no other trace of
the name is known. On the other hand, the dynasty
closes with Nitokris in Manetho, next after Menthesufis.
And the reality of this name is confirmed by the Turin
papyrus entry of Netaqerti, on a fragment which may
reasonably belong to this period.
The only connection between Menkara and Netaqerti
is provided by a curious error of late times. The third
pyramid of Gizeh is stated by Manetho to have been
built by Nitokris ; and Herodotos attributes the same
to the beautiful Rhodopis (ii. 134), evidently another
version of Nitokris, whom Manetho describes as fair and
ruddy. But though the third pyramid has been enlarged,
it is certain, from the excellent masonry of the core,
from the granite casing of the outside, and from the
absence of all inscription inside, that it belongs entirely
to the fourth dynasty, and has no connection with the
rubble pyramids of the sixth dynasty at Sakkara.
There is only one possible origin before us for this tale.
The real builder of the pyramid being Men'kau'ra, he
has been confounded with the queen Men'ka'ra of the
end of the sixth dynasty ; and these tales thus lead us to
associate the name Men*ka*ra with that of Netaqerti or
Nitokris, to whom the pyramid is otherwise attributed.
The close of the dynasty appears to have been
troublous. According to Herodotos (ii. 100), the
brother of Nitokris was slain, and she in turn treacher-
ously avenged him on his murderers. Whether this
brother was Mer*en*ra or Neter'ka'ra, there is no
evidence. But the former only reigned a single year.
It seems that the long reign and great age of Pepy II.
had allowed disorder to arise ; owing to his feebleness,
and probably the number of rival claims in various
generations of his descendants, the kingdom had be-
come disorganised ; and, after a few brief reigns, the
dynasty failed, and a long era of confusion followed.
Even the close of the dynasty is uncertain, as we shall
see in considering the next era.
Two kings that may be referred to the IVth-VIth
dynasties should be stated here, although their exact
tc* NEB-KHARA [imt. n
place is unknown, as they are only found on isolated
objects.
z^' — ■■ ^ ^fc
Fig. 60.— Scaiab
(H. ColL),
occurs on a scarab of this age (H. Coll.),
HOR'NEFER'HEN
CMD
CM!
This name is in a cartouche on a piece of an alabaster
lid (F.P. Coll.), apparently of the IVth dynasty. It
may well be the same as a name read by Deveria
; O^ in Bulak Papyrus, No. 8 (Pap. Bu!. i.
This dynasty differs from either of those which pre-
ceded it. It has neither the simplicity of the IVth nor
the priestly character of the Vth dynasty. The ideal of
the time was active foreign conquest and exploration.
Monuments sprang up in all parts of the country, and
a general development of national life appears which was
unknown before.
The art of the time, though becoming more general,
is lower in character. The pyramids, instead of being
solid masses of stone which rival the hills, are merely
heaps of chips and rubble retained by rude walls, and
covered with a smooth casing. The tombs of private
HOR-NEFER-HEN 107
persons have not the solidity of those of their ancestors.
But the execution of small objects is very fine and
sumptuous, as in the ivory box and head-rest in the
Louvre. We see in this age the regular effects of the
diffusion and cheapening of works which were formerly
a rare luxury. Yet there is by no means the depraved
showiness which marks the works of the later times of
the XVIIIth-XIXth dynasties.
io8
SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES [dyn. vii.-x.
CHAPTER VI
Seventh to Tenth Dynasties
The lack of any prominent landmarks among* the
names preserved to us in these dynasties makes it need-
ful to treat them together as a whole.
The actual documents concerning them are here
arranged, according to what seems to be their most
probable relations, the details of which are discussed
later on.
Turin Papyrus.
Abydos List.
Manetho and
Eratosthknes.
Monuments.
9 Neferka
10 Nefer's
11 Ab
12 . . . . y
Sum dynasty
iSi years.
Years from
Mena 1755.
By sum stated at
end of Xlth dynasty
. •. years from
Mena 1756
about 3322 B.C.
' I (Lost)
2 Nefer'ka'ra
- 3 Kheti
4 y
. 5 (Lost)
6 Nefer'ka'ra
7 Khety
g g
9 fLostJ
10 (Lost)
11 Hor?
\I2 H
• • •
Nefer'ka'ra
a . •
Nefer'ka'ra Neby
Dad 'ka 'shema 'ra
Nefer'ka'ra
Hor'meren
Snefer'ka
Ra*en*ka
Nefer'ka'ra Tererel
Hor'nefer'k.i
• • •
• • •
Thuosimares
Thirillos-
Neby
Ra*en*ka
B.C 33M-a778.) SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES
109
RIN PaX*VRUS.
A.»T^>T,o^ MaNETHO AND
Abydos List. Eratosthenes.
Monuments.
(Lost)
Nefer'kara
Pepysenb
1
1
I
1
S?
Snefer'ka'Annu Semphrukrates
(Lost)
. . ukau'ra
(Lost)
Nefer'kauTa
(Vllth dynasty
(Lost)
Hor'kauTa
5 kings, 70 years
(Lost)
Nefer'ar'ka'ra
t Vlllth dynasty
Sum dynasty
27 kings, 1 46 years)
18 king's
nbrjiit ^infi Tt c
iAkhthoes, Man.
( Ab'meryra
(Khather, Erat.
\ Khety
2 . . .
Ka'mery'ra
3 Meures, Erat.
Maa*ab*ra
4 Skha'n'ra
(IXth dynasty
5 Kha'user'ra
4 kings, 1 00 years)
6 Aa'hotep'ra
7 Aa
about 3006 B.C.
(Xth dynasty
Khyan
1 9 kings, 1 85 years)
Uazed
Yapeqher
about 2821 B.C.
about 2985 B.C.
• • •
• •
Antef I.
• • •
Mentu'hotep ]
• • •
Antef II.
[Lost)
(Lost)
Antef III.
Mentu'hotep I
[Lost)
Antef IV.
[Lost)
(Xlth dynasty
Antef V.
Neb'kher'ra
Neb'kher'ra
16 (? 6) kings,
Mentu'hotep I
Sankh'ka-ra
Sankh'ka'ra
43 years)
about 2778 B.C.
Sankh'ka'ra
The first entries of the Turin papyrus, after Neta-
qerti have been usually set down to the Vllth dynasty,
only because Manetho does not state any ruler after
that queen in the previous dynasty. But there are
g"ood reasons for supposing that the Vlth dynasty
really lasted on for four reigns longer, (i) The Turin
papyrus makes no break after Netaqerti, but goes on
no SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES [dvn. vii.-x
with four kings more, and then makes a long summary
both of the dynasty and of all the kings from Mena.
Such a summary is due at the end of the Vlth dynasty,
but is not to be expected in, or after, the Vllth, which
was closely allied to the Vlllth. (2) The total of 181
years is stated at this summary ; though only the
number remains, yet it cannot be of kings, as not half
of that number had reigned since Mena. Now we have
seen good reason for taking the Turin numbers rather
than those of Manetho ; and, adopting them, the
dynasty from Teta to Netaqerti occupied 168 years,
leaving it thus 13 years short of the Turin total, which
would well agree with there being four short reigns
more. (3) There is another evidence, which seems
at first but very uncertain, yet it agrees so well in-
ternally, that it is worth notice. Manetho states the
total years from Mena to the end of the Xlth dynasty
as 2300 ; and his most probable readings for the length
of the Vllth to Xlth dynasties are 70+ 146+ 100+ 185 +
43 years = 544 years. Deducting this from 2300 years,
we reach 1756 years for the close of Manetho's Vlth
dynasty, agreeing to the 1755 years for the same epoch
in the Turin papyrus. It is true that this entry is
actually 755 ; but the number is too great to be
anything but years, and either 755 or 2755 would be
equally impossible for the period since Mena ; hence
there can be no doubt as to the reading 1755 years,
which so remarkably accords with Manetho.
We see, then, good reason to assign these four
kings, between Netaqerti and the summation in the
Turin papyrus, to the close of the Vlth dynasty, thus
allowing three or four years each for their reigns.
After a disastrous break, there are two fragments
(known as Nos. 47 and 48) of the Turin papyrus.
Wilkinson arranged them side by side, and supposed
that a number of kings must have double cartouches
here, an arrangement quite unknown in all the rest
of the document. Brugsch omits No. 48 altogether,
as considering that it does not belong to Wilkinson's
position. But there seems no reason why frag.
II.C 332a-a778.] SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES 1 1 1
48 may not precede 47, which latter reaches the base
of the column ; the total length thus entailed is only
in accord with the length of other columns of the
papyrus, and a fair coincidence is thus obtained with
the total number of kings stated at the end of the
dynasty, and with the list of Abydos. Accordingly
I have here placed a bracket against each of these
fragments of this list ; and it should be remembered
that the first piece is not quite certain in position.
The sum at the end of the dynasty gives eighteen
kings, and this number is exactly made up in this
arrangement of the fragments. On turning to the list
of Abydos, we find only fifteen kings ; hence certainly
three in the Turin list are not in Abydos. In attempt-
ing to adjust the two lists together, then three blanks
must be inserted in Abydos, and we cannot expect to
find the personal name Khety which occurs at Turin,
as the Abydos list is only of throne names. Remem-
bering these points, there is not a single case of
contradiction between the lists, and there are some
good connections, Nefer'ka'ra, y for Neby, Nefer-
kara, S . . . . for Snefer'ka, Hor ? (certainly a bird)
for Hor'nefer'ka, and S ? for Snefer'ka'annu. This
last name was miscopied by Duemichen as Ra'nefer'ka,
and his error is followed by Brugsch, Wiedemann,
Bouriant, and Budge. Three small errors beside this
in Duemichen's copy also serve to ear-mark this source
of the published copies.
Taking this adjustment as provisional, the question
is, what dynasties these kings represent. Manetho
gives, according to the most probable text, five kings
for the Vllth, and twenty-seven kings for the Vlllth ;
so these lists could be only a selection out of the thirty-
two kings of these dynasties. That these names do
not belong to the IXth or Xth is indicated by two
points, (i) It is probable that the kings Ab'meryra
and Ka'meryra, found at Asyut, belong to the Hera-
kleopolite IXth and Xth dynasties ; but no names of
this type occur in these Abydos names. (2) The list
of Eratosthenes, though corrupt as to spelling, is
112 SEVENTH TO TENTH DYNASTIES low, vii.-x.
remarkably free from misplacement of names. He
g'ives only a selection of kings ; and beginning at his
fifteenth, where we reach history, his list and the actual
names are as follow —
Saofis Khufu.
Saofis II. Khafra.
Moskheres Men'kau'ra.
Mousthis Im'hotep?
Pammes Pepy I.
Apappous (of loo years) Pepy II. (loo years).
Ekheskosokaras ?
Nitokris Netaqerti.
Myrtaios ?
Thuosimares Dad'ka'shema'ra.
Thirillos (or Thinillos) Tererel (or Tereru).
Semphrukrates Seneferka.
Khather (Akhthoes, Man.) Khety.
Meures Maa'ab'ra.
Now it seems pretty certain that ** Khuther Taurus,
the tyrant" of Eratosthenes, is the "Akhthoes who
was more dreadful than all who went before him, who
did evil throughout Egypt, and, being seized with
madness, was destroyed by a crocodile," as recorded
by Manetho. Hence, as this king begins the Hera-
kleopolite dynasties (IXth-Xth), those before him in
Eratosthenes beloiig" to the Vllth-VIIIth dynasties;
and thus we can assign the period of the list at Abydos,
and see that it contains nothing between the Vlllth
and Xlth dynasties. Further, the next name in
Eratosthenes is Meures, probably pronounced Mevres ;
and this agrees with the king Maa*ab*ra or Maaavra,
known on scarabs. From the internal evidence of the
reigns, it seems that the Xlth dynasty was about con-
temporary with the Xth ; but no kings earlier than
Mentuhotep III. were reckoned in the series, and he
was adored as a founder in later times.
Having now dealt with the connection of the
dynasties, and the nature of the lists, we will turn to
consider the few remains that we have of this age.
■.c. 3»9o-3a»aJ NEBY— RA-EN'KA 113
VII.-VIII. 4. . ITTX-M *''°"*
B.C.
Three scarabs are known of this king,
one in G. Coll. (Fig. 62), and two others
blundered. The style of them is closely
like some of Pepy, and they certainly
belong to this period. p^^ 62.-Scarab
(G. Coll.).
VII.-VIII. 6. Nefer-ka-ra
C3h1
Some of the many scarabs bearing this common
name apparently by their style belong to this age.
They show the first introduction of the symmetrical
designs.
Fig. 63. — Earliest symmetrical scarabs.
(B. Mus.). (P.P. Coll.).
VII.-VIII. 9. Ra-en-ka \^Q aa^^^a LJ J
about
3220
B.C.
A few scarabs are known of this king.
Fig. 64. — Scarab
(P. Mus.).
114
ABMERY RA
Cl>TN. Uf.-X t
IX.-X. I. Ab'mery'ra'
Khety
feoHO
(
3
about
3106
B.C.
These two names are known to belong
to one king by the fragments of some
copper open-work, which may have been
parts of a brazier or some round object
&'g- *^)-... '^^^^ are now in the Louvre F,^g^_s^^l,
(S.B.A. xm. 429). There is also a scarab (p. Mus.).
of this king (P.M.), closely like those above
Fig. 66.— Copper- work, brazier of Khety (P. Mus.).
attributed to Ra'en'ka and Nefer'ka'ra of the pre-
ceding dynasty (see above). And his name occurs
AB-MERY-RA
(^
on the rocks at the First Cataract (Acad., 1892, 333).
The name Khety U so common as a private name (there
being thirty-six in Lieblein's dictionary), that it is of
little value for identification ; but as this king has left
some tangible remains, he may well be the Khety
= Akhthoes, the first of the IXth dynasty, who has
left the strongest impression behind him, in Manetho.
The Khuther of Eratosthenes may easily be a corrup-
tion of Khuthes, as final rho and final sigma are readily
confounded in cursive Greek.
IX. -X. 2. Ka'hery'ra
( o u 1^
This king is known on a palette in
the Louvre (Fig. 67), which was found
with the fragments of copper of Ab"-
meryra, probably in a tomb near Asyut.
And his name also occurs in a tomb at
Asyut (G.S. xiii.). As these tombs
throw light on the time, we will briefly
notice them. There are three tombs
of the princes of Asyut in the IXth
and Xth dynasties, Khety 1., Tefaba,
and Khety II. The first two (accord-
ing to Maspero, R.C., i88g, 421) were
actively engaged in wars against the
Theban princes. Khety I. recounts
that he cut a canal at Asyut, and so
obtained, during the dry season, a full
supply of water, by which he irrigated
his own nome and enriched the country;
he organised the administration, and
his justice procured the friendship of
the king. Tefaba — probably his son—
tranquillised the country, and abo-
lished robbery. The South rebelled
from Elephantine to Qau, and he had ';'^;.*?p-^™i'f,"„P^
Il6i
KA-MERYRA
[DYN. 1X.-X. 9.
the Nile. The next prince, Khety II,, lived under Ka*
meryra, and built a temple and prepared a tomb for
himself; he also chastised the southerners, the king
joining in the campaign ; after which the people of
the capital, Herakleopolis, came out to meet the king
in triumph. We see here how the Thebans were
almost independent, constant wars going on between
them and the IXth and Xth dynasties. The earlier
part of the XI th dynasty is therefore probably con-
temporary with this Xth dynasty, to which Ka'meryra
appears to belong ; and this agrees with Manetho only
stating 43 years for the Xlth out of the i6o years or
so of those kings, leaving 1 20 years to overlap the Xth
dynasty.
IX.-X. 3. Maa-ab-ra f O S^ O* 1
This king appears to be the same as
the Meures of Eratosthenes, and there-
fore belongs to the IXth or Xth dynasty.
His scarabs are common, and are all of
the same style of work.
Fig. 68.— Scarab
(G. Mus.).
Four other kings of this same period are only known
to us by their scarabs, viz. —
IX.-X. 4. S'KHA'N'RA,
whose scarabs
are as common
as those of Maa*
ab'ra.
Fig. 69.— Scarab
(F. P. Coll.).
B.C. SOS*^"*^'*)
AA
117
IX.-X. 5. Kha'user'ra,
of whom two
scarabs are known
(both G. Coll.).
Fig. 7a — Scarab
G. CoU.).
IX.— X. 6. Aa'hotep'ra,
of whom also two
scarabs are known
(F.P. and Berlin).
Fig. 71. — Scarab
(F.P. CoU.).
IX.-X. 7. A A,
of whom four
scarabs are known
(G.M. and Evans'
Coll.).
Fig. 72. — Scarab
(G. Mus.).
Another king of this age, Nefer'hepuTa, is reported
to be found named at the First Cataract (Acad. 1892,
333)-
We have now seen how the Memphite dynasties of the
Vllth and Vlllth dynasties fell through decay. The
seat of government retreated southward to Herakleo-
polis, above the Fayum, where it was in constant feud
with the neighbouring power of Thebes, which was
gradually rising into importance. What was then the
cause of this retreat southward? Some catastrophe
must have happened to drive them from the ancient
seat of power to a comparatively obscure town ; and
such can hardly be aught else than the intrusion of
some, foreign power into the Delta. Within the last two
or three years we have obtained a glimpse of this power
1)8 KHYAN (pn,.a.-i.
in the person of one king who became Egyptianised,
and who has left monuments behind him which imply
that he obtained a suzerainty over all the country, like
the Hyksos in later times.
Se*user*en*ra
(^ O |l g «Mv, J about3iooB.c
— M
Statue, Bubastis (N.B. xii.).
Block, Gebeten (Rec. xvi. 4
Lion, Baghdad (B. Mux.).
Cylinders, scarabs.
The lower part of the statue of this king in black
granite was found in the temple of Bubastis. It is of
KHYAN
^M.
Egyptian style, but has unusual titles. Another block
of black granite, found at Gebelen, bears the same car-
touches ; and a lion found at Baghdad, or near there,
has an effaced cartouche, which, after much dispute, is
now seen clearly to belong to this king. There are
also two cylinders and five scarabs which have only
risen into importance since the discovery of the statue.
We will DOW consider the results shown by these
remmns. In the first place, the scarabs are of two
types — (i) with scroll-work down the sides, but not con-
nected across top or bottom, i.e. a discontinuous scroll ;
and {3) usually with a verdcal line down each side of
the name, and debased hieroglyphs at the edges.
(M. Coll.) (F.P. Coll.) (SpicerColL)
Fio. 74.— CjlJndets and scarabs of Khyan.
Now, both of these types are common on the scarabs
of Pepy, and also in those of Maa-abTa of the IXth
dynasty. But, on the other hand, not a single scarab
of the Xllth, or later dynasties, is known with such
desigfns. It is therefore impossible to assign this king
to the Hyksos period, as was supposed at first. Also,
I20 KHYAN [DYN. IX.-X.
it should be noted that the name is Khyan, and not
Rayan, as it has been read. On the statue and the
block from Grebelen the Ra is always carefully differ-
enced from the Khy either by the added uraeus, or by
an unusually large central boss. On the four scarabs
and two cylinders, which give the personal name, the
Kh is always uniformly differenced from Ra by two
transverse lines. It is therefore impossible to read it
otherwise than Khyan. Now, on both the cylinder and
scarabs he is named Heq Setu^ "prince of the hills"
or desert. This same title belongs to the immigrant
chief Absha at Beni Hasan. It refers to a rule over
the deserts east of Egypt, and Bubastis is the most
likely of all the cities for an eastern invader to seize,
lying as it does at the mouth of the Wady Tumilat.
That Khyan was powerful is evident by his conquering
most of Egypt, and apparently ejecting the native kings
from their old capital, Memphis. That he ruled over
a civilised part of Egypt, appears by the excellent work
of his great statue, and the number of his scarabs. He
must therefore have been a powerful ruler before he
subdued a part of the land. How far his rule extended
we cannot be certain ; but that a lion of his should be
found at Baghdad (B.M.)— too large to be carried in
the pocket, too small to have been a trophy of a later
conqueror — suggests that he was king, or great shekh,
of all the north of Arabia, and ruled from the Euphrates
to the Nile.
The Egyptian titles he assumed are peculiar. His
ka name is anq adebu, ** embracing territories," a name
suggestive of a wide rule. His title after the cartouche
is ka'f meryy ** beloved of his ka,'''' To an Egyptian
such a title would be absurd, as the ka was the man's
own double ; but to a Semite, whose great belief is in
guardian angels and genii attached to individuals or
places, the ka^ or invisible double, would be naturally
used as a term for the angelic double. Hence ka'fmery
would be a likely rendering of ** beloved of his guardian
angel."
Both of the cylinders are of a rude and ignorant
B.C. 3IOO>l
KHYAN
121
style. That of Athens has only the plural three lines
of seiUy the three hills of the sig'n having been con-
founded with them, and dropped out. The Lanzone
cylinder could not be read without other examples to
explain it ; but, having got the title heq setu and Khy of
the name, we can hardly deny its identity with the
other instances of Khyan. It may be that it reads
Khyy ad the island sign, & the eagle, n^ KhyaA&n,
That the eagle was written thus — much like the goose
— is already proved by the scarabs of a seal-bearer,
Har.
It is possible that this king has even been entered in
the royal list of Tahutmes III. at Karnak. Among the
kings on the left side of the chamber, which are all
before the Xlllth and later dynasties, there is User 'en*
ra* ; and this can hardly be the king of the Vth dynasty,
as he already figures in this list as An. Moreover, the
position of Userenra is between Mentuhotep III. and
an unknown king, and in the same line are kings of the
Xlth and Xllth dynasties. The position, therefore,
would well agree to a contemporary of the beginning
of the Xlth dynasty ; and the only difficulty is in such
a foreign prince being included among Egyptian kings.
If, however, the so-called Hyksos statues are really of
these foreign invaders, — and Amenemhat III. appears to
show a resemblance to that type, — it is possible that
the foreigners were included in the ancestry of the
Egyptian kings.
Two other kings appear to belong to this same
period, by the style of their scarabs.
Uaz'ed,
of whom three scarabs are
known, the one figured, one
with the addition Ra'uazed
(P.P. Coll.), and one with dis-
continuous scroll (G.M.).
Fig. 75.— Scarab (G. Coll.)
of whom two scarabs are
known, one with continuous
scroll (P.M.).
Fig. 76.— Scarab {M. ColL).
As these three kings all bear un-Egyptian r
they appear to belong to a series of foreigners
their remains all point to their being contemporai
the IXth-Xth dynasties of the Egyptians.
».c«rfs-«7yS] ELEVENTH DYNASTY "3
CHAPTER VII
Eleventh Dynasty
For this period we have no good list, and need to
combine various broken fragments of information.
It has been often supposed that the Antef kings and
the Mentuhotep kings were of different periods. But
there are solid grounds for believing them to be closely
interrelated as one family. The tablets of Shut er
Regal show us an Antef adoring a Mentuhotep, accom-
panied by Mentuhotep's vizier (P.S. 443, 489). Then
among private names of that age we find Antefs and
Mentuhoteps entirely mingled together, as if the names
were equally fashionable and usual at the same time.
And in the list of Karnak a Mentuhotep comes be-
tween two Antefs.
The total number of these kings is also uncertain ;
so far as monuments go, there is no reason to accept
more than nine, including Sankh*ka*ra at the end of
the dynasty. The Turin papyrus does not allow of
more than six, apparently omitting the first three as
being usurping princes, contemporary with other rulers.
Such is Maspero's view (R.C. 1889, 421). Manetho
states that sixteen kings reigned for forty-three years ;
and after them Ammenemes for sixteen years. It
seems not impossible that Manetho originally wrote six
kings, in accord with the Turin papyrus, and that the
sixteen has crept in as a corruption copied from the
sixteen years of Ammenemes.
424
ELEVENTH DYNASTY
[0VK. XL
From the Karnak list and the monuments the follow-
ing seems to be more likely than any other arrange-
ment —
Karnak.
Monuments.
Erpa'ha Antefa
1 An(tefl.) Ra'seshes'her*
hefmaat
2 Mcn(tuhotep I.) Neb'hotep
3 An(tefII.)
4 Antef(IIL) Ra'seshes'up*
maSlt
5 (MentuhotepII.)? Neb'taui'ra
6 Antef(IV.)
7 Nub'kheper'ra
8 Neb'kher'ra
9 Sankh 'ka "ra
Hor Uah'ankh
Nub "kheperu 'ra
Neb 'kher *ra
Sankh 'ka 'ra
Antefaa (L)
Mentuhotep (I.)
Antefea (11.)
Anteftla (III.)
Mentuhotep (ll.)
Antef-aa (IV.)
Antef(V.)
Mentuhotep (III.)
(AntefVI.)?
B.C.
about
3005
2985
2965
2945
2940
2922
2902
2852
2832
2786
2778
There are some absolute data for this list, and some
merely presumptive. The number of the kings is fixed
by the list of Karnak in this order ; but one name
is lost, which is here filled in presumably as a Mentu-
hotep.
Of the last three kings there is no question, as they
are always distinguished by their Ra names. The real
crux is to unravel the first four Antefs ; and our first
clue to them is in the style of their coffins. In the
British Museum is a gilded coffin of fine work (Fig. 81);
and in the Louvre is a coffin, rather simpler (omitting
the ear) but otherwise so closely like the other that
they probably came from the same hands (Fig. 79).
Now, on the Louvre coffin it is stated that it was made by
a king Antef for his brother, and this just accounts for
these two Antef coffins being so very closely alike ; the
British Museum coffin was for the younger brother, who
B.C. a985-a778.] ELEVENTH DYNASTY 125
ordered the gilt coffin in the Louvre to be made through
his fraternal piety. In the list we see two Antefs
coming next to each other, the Ilnd and Ilird, and we
can hardly do otherwise, therefore, than attribute the
gilt coffin of the Louvre to Antef IL, and that of the
British Museum to Antef IIL
There is also another Antef coffin in the Louvre, that
of Ra'seshes'her'her'maat, as he is inscribed on the
breast. This is quite different from the others ; in
place of finely carved features, and richly gilded and
worked stucco from head to foot, it is coarsely carved
and hideously painted (Fig. 78). In a rising dynasty it
woiild be impossible to attribute such work to a later
date than the finely-wrought and gilded coffins ; hence
it can only be of Antef I.
The next most important monument is that of An*aa
or Antef 'aa, whose Horus name was Uah'ankh. His
tomb stele with his four hounds is well known, and
there is also a rock stele at Elephantine. This cannot
be Antef III. or V., as their Horus names are different ;
nor Antef II., as Uah'ankh was succeeded by his son.
From the good execution of the carving, it is unlikely to
be Antef I., and hence we are limited to placing him as
Antef IV., with whose successor — Antef V. — the style
of work has an evident connection.
Although there might have been another Antef or
another Mentuhotep, we have no monumental warrant
for inserting any but those already in the Karnak
series. It has been supposed — on the strength of the
title being Hor, and not any greater — that the first
three Antefs of the Karnak list were not the same as
the kings of whom we have actual remains. But it is
very improbable that obscure princes would be picked
out for insertion on such a monument, to the exclusion
of the more important kings of their same family. The
Antefs of Karnak must be the greatest rulers who
owned that name.
Of the Mentuhoteps there is far less to debate.
There are only three distinct ones known ; the last of
these is fixed by his Ra name ; and of the two others,
Neb'taui'ra is so much more important than Neb-hotep,
that he is almost certainly later.
Prince Ante fa
rsrgjzn
about
^3^/i^tr^/
The stele of this prince was found near the Antef
pyramids at Thebes, and a portion of it is here copied.
It shows him to have been a ruler of the South under
- some king not named.
He is entitled "The
hereditary noble, ruler
of the Tbebaid, satis-
fying the desire of the
kins', keeper of the
gates of the frontier,
pillarof the South, the
administrator, making'
to live his two lands,
chief of the prophets,
devoted to the great
god, Antefa." It is
important that he is
said to " make to live
his two lands " {sankh
taui f), for, as he
speaks of his king,
it is clear that he did not rule over Upper and Lower
Egypt, and hence his two lands must refer to the two
banks of the Nile ; this seems to settle the real mean-
ing of taui. We see then that he ruled the Thebaid
and the South, and provided for the country, probably
by irrigation (see photo Ms. G. 34, and M.D. Sob).
This chief was therefore ruling under the Herakleo-
politan kings of the tenth dynasty. The style of his
work is rough and formless, but retains somewhat ot
the largeness of the Old kingdom, and of the character
of scenes of that time.
I-1945-1 ANTEF-AA I
■a-
I. Ra-sbshes-/ ^ K ra $ ^
HER-HER-MAAT^^O ? <=> | D_J
about
2965
B.C.
This king is only known from his coffin, which is now
in the Louvre (P.R. 185 ; A.Z. vii. 52} (Fig. 78) ; it is
coarsely carved in wood, and painted with a pattern
na78.~CoffioofAntefI. (P. Mus.).
representing wings covering the whole body,
adorning is in blue, red, and dull yellow, and i
rudely applied.
The
i but
XI. 2. Nbb'hotep .
Mbnto-hotep I. (
about 296S-294S B.C.
g=n
D
Temple, Gebelen, G. Mus. (Rec wv. 261 xvi
Rock tablet, Konosso (L.D. ii. isob).
Stele (private), Louvre, 676 (A.Z. 1869, $t).
f«8
NEB-HOTEP
[dvn. zi •
The remains of a temple of this king at Gebelen were
re-used by Ptolemy VII. The king is shown slaying
the Nehesi, Sati, and Tehenu, or the races bordering
on Egypt, on the south, east, and west.
A rock tablet at the First Cataract on the island ot
Konosso is headed by the king's names, but without
any figure of him, only portraying three divinities,
Khnum, Min, and Sati. The king is promised to have
**all lands under his feet." Another tablet at Konpsso
(L.D. ii. 150 c) and one at Hammamat (L.D. ii. i5od)
may probably belong to this king, as se ra is included
in the cartouches, which is not usual under later Mentu-
hoteps. A private stele in the Louvre {676) shows an
official adoring Mentuhotep, who is seated holding a
long heq staff.
XI. 3. Antef'Aa
(".)Q
J
about 2945-
2940 B.C.
This king is only known from his coffin in the
Louvre, which was found at Thebes (A.Z. vii. 52 ;
Fig. 79.— Coffin of Antef II. (P. Mus.).
P.R. 1. 86). Having been plundered by natives, the
site of it is not fixed, but it was almost certainly near
B.C a945''S933.]
ANTEF-AA II
129
the Antef tombs. He appears to have died suddenly
and early, for he was succeeded by his younger brother,
another Antef, who made this coffin for him, as he
records upon it. The coffin is on the same pattern as
the rude coffin of Antef I., but it is well carved and
gilt all over.
XI. 4.
RA'SESHES
•UP-MAAT ( Q f ^^ ]
about
2940-2922
B.C.
Antef 'AA III
a
£1^
1
Pyramidion (B.M. 578).
Coffin (B.M. 6652 ; A.Z. 1869, 53).
Funeral box (P. Mus. 614).
Fig. 80. — Pyramidion of Antef III. (B. Mus.).
The identity of this king with Antef III. rests on a
presumption from associated objects. The gilt coffin
(Fig. 81) in the British Museum, we have already
shewn, belongs to Antef III.; also in the British
Museum is a small pyramid of Antef Ra'seshes'up*
maat. Then in the Louvre is his brother's coffin,
probably from the same or an adjacent tomb ; and also
1—9
130
ra-seshesupmaSt
In.
a funeral box for canopic jars from the tomb of Ra-
seshes'up'ma^t.
The tomb is mentioned in the Abbott papyrus con-
cerning the inspection of royal tombs. "The monu-
ment of king Ra'seshes'emupu'ma, son of the sun,
Antuf-aa. It was found to have been pierced by the
Fic.8r.— Coffin of Anteini. (B, Mns.).
hands of the thieves at the spot where the tablet of the
monument is fixed. Examined on that day, it was
found entire, the thieves not having been able to
penetrate into it." So, as late an the end of the XXth
dynasty, some sixteen centuries after the burial, the
king yet remained undisturbed.
The style of these coffins sufficiently rebuts Mariettc's
B.C. aoM-agoa.] NEB'TAUI'RA 131
abuse of the work of the Antef kings, without further
argument. The style is as good as that of Aahmes,
and fully comparable with any remains of the Mentu-
hoteps.
/^ . ^ about
XL 5. NEBTAUI-RAf O ''CI^ ^ •• . I 2922-2902
B.C.
Mentuhotep II. I g^^ V c^ n J
Inscriptions, Hammamat (L.D. ii. 149; G.H.
x.-xiv.).
Inscription, Konosso (B.H. iii).
Scarabs.
Mother^ Queen Aam (L.D. ii. 149 f)* Fig. 82.— Scarab
(P. Mus.)
Most of what we know of this king is from the inscrip-
tions cut by the working parties in the quarries of
Hammamat. We find that in his second year a Sed
festival of Sirius' rising took place ; another instance
which shows that these festivals were then at fixed
astronomical dates, and not dependent on the years
of the reign. Most of these inscriptions relate to the
party who prepared the royal sarcophagus, under the
direction of the noble, the vizier Amenemhat, in the
second year of the king's reign. They are all dated in
the month Paophi, in the second year. The first tablet
records a marvel of how a gazelle ran up toward the
army, to the rock near where they were, and brought
forth her young there, whereat they caught and sacri-
ficed her. This is placed by the side of a tablet of
Neb'taui'ra offering to Min, dated on the third day.
On the fifteenth day is dated a great tablet set up for
the king, who says that he caused Amenemhat to go out
with 10,000 soldiers from the nomes of the south, from
the south country, from the interiori and from the
132 NEB-TAUI-RA Idyn. xi. 5.
Uabu nome, to bring the pure hard stone which is in
the rock, to make a sarcophagus as a remembrance for
eternity, and for monuments in the temples of the
south. On the same day is dated a private tablet of
Amenemhat, recounting all his offices and titles, and
saying that he was sent with quarrymen and artisans
and sculptors, and many other kinds of workmen, and
that he brought a great sarcophagus. The soldiers
returned without loss, even of one ass. On the twenty-
third day an inscription records that they had cut out the
sarcophagus, and that they had made a pool of water
ten cubits square at a well that they found in the middle
of the valley. It was guarded pure from the animals,
and carefully hidden from the Troglodytes. And
though soldiers and kings of old had passed there,
they had never before found this well. Lastly, on the
twenty-eighth day, is a postscript added to the royal
tablet, stating that they had extracted the lid of the
sarcophagus as a block 4 cubits wide, 8 cubits long,
and 2 cubits thick; and that then they slaughtered
oxen and gazelles, and incense was offered upon the
censer. And 3000 sailors from the nomes of the
north were following with the expedition. We notice
that in one inscription the king is called the son of
the royal mother Aam ; this not only gives her name,
but it suggests that she was queen-regnant during
a minority, like the mention of the mother of Pepy II.
during his minority.
At Konosso a tablet records the conquests of this
king over thirteen tribes (B.H. iii).
Several scarabs are known with the name Neb'taui'ra ;
and as half of them have the royal titles neter nefevy or
sutetiy they evidently belong to this king. This is the
first appearance of scarabs in this dynasty ; and they
are very small and poor.
B.C. 9gioa-»959.]
ANTEF*AA IV
133
XI. 6. HoR Uah'ankh
Antef'aa IV.
^If
Pyramid, Thebes.
Stele (G. Mus.; M.D. 49).
Rock stele, Elephantine (P.S. 310).
Fig. 83.— Stele,
Elephantine.
The brick pyramid of this king contained a stele
(now in G. Mus.) representing the king standing with
four dogs. The stele was broken away at the upper
part when found by Mariette, and since then it was
broken up by the natives, but partly recovered by
Maspero. Hence the full name and titles of the king
are lost, along with the top, and we do not know the
Ra name of this king. The stele was made for the
^^ Hor Uah'ankhy the king (An aa) living anew." And,
further, before the king is a line naming the usual offerings
for the ^^ Ho7 Uah'ankh^ the king (Antef'aa)." It has
been supposed that these two names must refer to
different kings, but the construction does not seem to
imply that ; and as in no dynasty did two kings take
the same ka name (or Horus name), it is very unlikely
that the name Uah ankh can belong to different persons ;
rather the An of the first cartouche is an abbreviation of
Antef.
The Abbott papyrus mentions this tomb the first of
all in the inquest on the condition of the royal tombs
under Ramessu X. It records ** The monument of king
Sa ra An*a.a, which is at the north of the temple of
Amenhotep of the terrace. This tomb is injured on the
■34
ANTEPAA IV ton. xu 4
surface opposite the spot where the tablet is placed ;
on the tablet is the image of the king, standing, having
between his feet his d<^ named Behukaa. Examined
on that day, it was found in good condition."
The subject of the stele is the king standing- vnth
four hounds, which bear Libyan names with Egyptian
interpretations — ** the gazelle/' ** the greyhound,"
** the black," and "the fire-pot." A servant, bearing
also a Berber name, Tekenru, stands behind the king.
Unhappily all the top of the slab is lost, and with it
half of the inscription. We glean, however, that
Antef had provided libations, built and endowed the
temples, and established offerings and services ; he
had cut a canal ; he had captured the nome of Abydos
and opened its prisons ; he had glorified and benefited
his city, and had left the succession to his son ; and in
the fiftieth year this tablet was established for the Hor
Ua/rankhy the king", son of the sun, Attaa. A fine
rock tablet of his adjoins those of earlier kings at
Elephantine (P.S. 310) (see above).
about
XI. 7. NUBKHEPERU-RA C Q fO^ ^ I J ^^^^
B.C.
Antef V.
QEDI
Tomb and obelisks, Thebes (M.D. 50 a).
Temple, Koptos.
Decree, Koptos.
Statuette (Lee Coll.).
Scarabs. F,G 84.— Scarab
(F.P. Coll.).
We find at this point a greater fulness of royal titles
appearing ; the ka name and vulture and uraeus name
being different ; besides the personal and throne
names. The two small obelisks, \i\ ft. high, bear all
the names and titles ; they stood in (ront of the tomb,
but are now lying wrecked somewhere in the Nile near
Qamuleh, and no attempt has been made to recover
The tomb was visited by the Ramesside inspectors,
who record "The monument of king Nub'khepet'ra,
son of the sun, Antuf, was found to have been pierced
by the hands of the thieves, who had made a hole of
Fic. Bs-— Slab with head of Antef V„ Koplos.
two and a half cubits in its surrounding wall, and a
hole of one cubit in the great outer chamber of the
sepulchre of the chief of the transport of offering, Auri
of Pa-amen, which is in ruins. The royal tomb was in
good condition, the thieves not having been able to
penetrate into it."
At Koptos, Antef appears to have rebuilt the temple
after the disasters of the previous age. About forty
136 NUB-KHEPERU-RA [dvn. xi. 7.
slabs of his work were found turned face down to form
the pavement of a later rebuilder. These slabs were
mostly small, and all of them thin ; they were not blocks
thick enough to build a wall, and this shows that the
temple was only of brick faced with stone. The sub-
jects were of Antef offering to Min, Horus, and a
goddess ; and the work was some in relief, some
intaglio.
A long decree, dated in the third year of Antef, is
inscribed on the side of a great doorway of Usertesen I.
at Koptos (now in G. Mus.) ; by the position it seems
to have been recopied there, but the style of the cutting
is like that of the Antef IV. stele. In any case, it is
doubtless an exact copy of the royal decree, placed
here where every person must see it, as being the title-
deed of the prince of Koptos. It throws so much light
on the administration of the Antefs, and the organisa-
tion of the country, that we may well read it here.
"The third year, month Phamenoth, 25th day, of his
majesty the king (Ra*nubu*kheper, sa'ra*, Antef)
giving life like the sun for ever. Decree of the king
to the chancellor, prince of Koptos Min 'em 'hat, the
king's son administrator of Koptos Qa'nen, the
chancellor Menkh'Min, the scribe of the temple
Nefer'hotep'ur, all the garrison of Koptos, and all
the officials of the temple, —
** Behold ye this decree has been brought to you
that ye may know that my majesty has sent the scribe
and divine chancellor of Amen Amen'se, and the semsu
hayt Amen 'user, to make inquisition in the temple of
Min : —
"Whereas the officials of the temple of my father
Min came to my majesty to say that an evil thing is
come to pass in this temple, even a harbouring of
enemies by (blasted be his name) Teta, son ot
Minhotep : —
"Therefore let him be cast out upon the ground
from the temple of my father Min, let him be driven
from his office of the temple, to the son of his son, and
the heir of his heir ; may they be cast abroad upon the
B.C. a85»-a83a.] ANTEF V I37
earth, let his bread and his sacred meat be seized, let
his name not be remembered in this temple, as is done
to one like him who has transgressed in the matter of
an enemy of his god ; let his writings in the temple of
Min be destroyed, and in the government office on
every roll likewise : —
** And every king and every puissant ruler who shall
forgive him, may he not receive the white crown, or
support the red crown, or sit upon the throne of Horus
the living ; let not the two diadems grant him favours
as beloved of him ; and every administrator or prince
who shall approach the Lord to forgive him, let his
people, his possessions, and his lands be given to the
endowment of my father Min of Koptos ; also let not
any man of his circle, of the relations of his father or of
his mother, be raised to this office : —
" Also that this office shall be given to the chancellor,
overseer in the palace, Min 'em 'hat, and let there be
given to him its bread and its sacred meat, established
unto him in writings in the temple of my father Min of
Koptos, to the son of his son and the heir of his
heir."
Here we have the complete formula of a royal com-
mission for one of the greatest acts of administration,
the degradation of one of the feudal princes on account
of treason, and the establishment of a new ruling
family in his place.
Some blocks previously removed from this temple
were seen here by Harris long ago built into the
bridge, but they have now disappeared.
A statuette shows the king as triumphing over
Asiatics and Negroes (Lee Coll.).
The scarabs are rather common in collections, nine
being known. All of them are of a symmetrical type,
mostly with two uraei, and the name between them.
This symmetrical type belongs to the scarabs of the
Vllth and VHIth dynasty, which are probably Mem-
phite in origin. A panther's head in soft blue paste
bears the name of this king (B. Mus., glass).
ia8 NEB-KHER-RA ionu xu 8.
XI. 8. Nbb-kher-ra ^ O ^^z7 j^ *^86b^^^
Mbntuhotep III.
Pyramid, Akhei'osuf, Thebes (M.A. 605).
Temple, Thebes (S. Cat. F. L 192).
Tablets, Shut er regal (P.S. 489, 394, 443).
Tablets, Aswan (P.S. 213, 243; L.D. iL 149 b).
Altar (CO. E. ii. 78).
Scarab (B. Mus.). Gold heart (P. Mus.).
Menat(XXVI. dyn.). (S.B.A. ix. 181). Fig. 86.— Scarab
Qtieens—Tumem (M.A.F. i. 134). Aah (P.S. 489). (B. Mus.).
This king was the greatest of his dynasty, judging
by the number of his monuments ; but his unusually
long reign may have led to his being thus well
represented.
His pyramid is unknown except from a mention of it
on a stele at Abydos (M.A. 605) of Tetu, who was chief
reciter at the pyramid Akhet'asut of Neb'kher'ra, and
prophet of Hor sam taut, the ka name of the same king.
But it was officially examined under Ramessu X., and
recorded to be then intact. Schiaparelli states that
Maspcro found at Thebes an architrave with the
cartouches of this king, which had been part of his
temple (S. Cat. F. i. 192).
The largest existing monument of his is the tablet
(Fig. 87) carved on the sandstone rocks of a valley
about four miles below Silsileh, known as Shut er regal,
or Soba Rigaleh. This shows a colossal figure of
Neb'kher'ra standing, with a smaller figure of sa ra
Antef facing him. This lesser personage is probably a
son of his, associated in the kingdom with him, and
using a cartouche, but not a Ra name like the father.
As the successor of Neb'kher'ra was S'ankh'ka'ra, it
is probable that Antef was the personal name of that
king, which is as yet unknown. That the king's son is
here shown is the more likely, as a queen behind
Neb'kher'ra is entitled "The royal mother, his beloved,
■^ .Bj^tK-I MENTUHOTEP III 139
Aah." Behind the king's son Antef is the vizier Khety
(P.S. 489). The same Khety is shown on another
tablet (P.S. 443) adoring Neb'kher'ra deceased; and
he appears on a third tablet, at Aswan (P.S. 213}, dated
in the forty-first year of Neb'kherTa, He therefore
lived at the end of the reign, and this agrees with his
appearing in attendance on the co-regent son Antef.
The tablet of the forty-first year records some business
with the boats of Wawat, or Lower Nubia. Another
tablet of the forty-first year of Neb'kher'ra is carved at
Fia, E7^F1gures at Shul er Regal.
Aswan by an official Mererty (P.S. 243), commissioner
in the Heliopolitan noma, and royal friend in the east
desert. A short inscription at Aswan gives only the
royal names (L.D. li, 149b). A block of sculpture
(G.M.) shows Neb-kher-ra associated with Uazyt of
Buto, and points to this king having worked in the
Delta (W.G. 227).
An altar of this reign shows two figures of the Nile
offering, and the names and titles of the king repeated :
it is described by Chabas from a paper impression by
Prisse (C.O.E. ii. 78). Contemporary private works
I40 NEB*KHER«RA tovN. zl a.
also record this king. In Turin is a large family tablet
of Meru, dated in the forty-sixth year of the king,
which is the highest recorded year of his reign.
Another tablet of his time (in P.M.) is of Mertisen
(L.A. ix. ; Pr. M. vii.; S.B.A.T. v. 555), who was a
chief artist, and describes his skill. He " knew the
mystery of the divine word, an artist skilled in his art.
i know what belongs to it, the sinking waters, the
weighings done for the reckoning of accounts, how to
produce the forms of going forth and returning, so that
the limb may go to its place. I know the walking of
the image of man, the carriage of a woman, the two
arms of Horus, the twelve circles of the injurious (the
hours of the nightly passage of the sun), the contem-
plating the eye without an equal which affrights the
wicked " (a play on his name, which is " the two eyes
which are equal"), **the poising of the arm to bring the
hippopotamus low, the going of the runner. I know
the making of amulets which enable us to go without
the fire giving its flame on us, or without the flood
washing us away. No one succeeds in it but I alone,
and the eldest son of my body. God has decreed him
to excel in it, and I have seen the perfections of his
hands in the work of chief artist in every kind of pre-
cious stones, of gold and silver, of ivory and ebony."
This curious description of the various branches of his
art throws some light on the different subjects usually
set to students for practice. First, the figures in slow
action, then the differences of the male and female
figure, then mythological subjects, then figures in rapid
action, and, lastly, the trade secrets of the potency of
amulets.
A stele of Anmerts names Amen'ra and Neb'kher'ra
as the gods (Rec. xiv. 21). Later references to Neb*
kher'ra prove how much honoured he was as a restorer
of the kingdom. On the statue of Amenemhat (F,
Mus.; S. Cat. F. i. 192) there is the usual formula
addressed to the royal ka of Neb'kher*ra, as to a deity.
In tombs of the XVIIIth dynasty at Thebes, Khabekht
adores him with the kings of that age (L.D iii. 2 a),
B.C a83«778.] MENTUHOTEP III 141
and Khaui does the same (L.D. iii. 2 d). In the XlXth
dynasty the libation table at Marseille bears his name*
with those of later kings. And in the Ramesseum he
is honoured with Mena and Ahmes I. as one of the
great kings in the procession of figures.
Of small remains there are remarkably few. Only a
gold heart (in the Louvre) and one beautifully-carved
scarab (B.M.) can be attributed to his time. Of later
work there is, however, a green glazed menat with
written inscription of this king, probably made in the
XXVI th dynasty (S.B.A. ix. 181). His queen is said
(M.A.F. i. 134) to be Tumem, who is otherwise said to
be an unclassed queen (A.Z. xxi. 77).
XI. 9. S-ANKH-KA-RA^OjPjjjJ ^2778 2c.
Antef VI. ?
Inscription, Hammamat (L.D. ii. 150 a).
Inscriptions, Shut er regfal (P.S. 359, 466).
Statue, Sakkara (W.G. 221).
Alabaster block, Erment (B.T. 1455).
Alabaster plaque (G. Mus.). Gold ring- with stone
(G. Mus., see W.G. 221). Scarab (P.P. Coll.). ^ „ « ,
Prayer to S-ankh'ka'ra (P.T. II. xlii.). ?F P "colL)
The inscription of Hammamat is the only important
document of this reign. It records an expedition to the
sacred land of Punt, which was the south end of the
Red Sea, both on the Somali coast and in Yemen. The
regular road to this region was across the desert from
Koptos, through the valley of Hammamat to the Red
Sea. The general in command was Henu, who had
three thousand soldiers with him, drawn from the
country south of Thebes, in order to better bear the
heat. To cross the desert he provided yokes and skins
for the water, and gave a measure of water and twenty
biscuits for each man daily. Large reservoirs were dug
141 S-ANKH-KARA tonr. xi 9^
at tour different points. On reaching the coast, vessels
were built to transport the men. The proceeds of the
expedition were all kinds of products found in the ports
of the Divine Land ; and on his return road, through
Wady Hammamat, he brought stone for statues of tibe
temples (L.D. ii. rsoa; B.H. 114; Masp. Rev. Hist,
ix. 8). This inscription is dated in the eighth year,
which shows that this reign was not very short.
In the valley of Shut er Regal the great stele of
Neb'kher'ra shows us that he is honoured by an asso-
ciated son named Antef ; and as he was succeeded by
Sankhkara, according to the Karnak list, and we do not
know the personal name of Sankhkara, we cannot do
better at present than identify him with Antef VI. (P.S.
489). Besides this, at the farther end of the rocks is a
tablet showing Sankhkara seated on his throne, wearing
the crown of Upper Egypt. A dog is seated below the
throne. Before the king is a table of offerings, and two
attendants with gazelles ; behind him kneel, with folded
arms, two nobles, the Erpa Tehuti, and another (P.S.
359). Lower down, in the same valley, is the ka name
of the king (P.S. 466).
A block of alabaster, with the names of this king, from
some temple decoration was found at Erment (B.T.
1455)-
A statue of Sankhkara was found at Sakkara, but
seems to have been lost sight of since. Deveria took
an impression of it, now in the Louvre (W.G. 221).
A double statuette of a man and wife was found at
Khataaneh, near Faqus, with a prayer to Sankhkara as
a deity (E. Coll. ; P.T. ii. xlii.).
Of small objects there is an alabaster plaque from
Draa-abul-Nega, naming **King Sankhkara beloved of
Mentu, lord of the Thebaid'* (G. Mus.), a gold ring
with a stone (G. Mus.; W.G. 221), and one scarab
(P.P. Coll.) of delicate work.
Having now reconstructed the dynasty thus, we may
look back and see how far our results are harmonious.
We have a steady growth of the royal style : first Erpa,
then a Ra name where the line of kings succeeds to the
B.C. 8786 2778.] SANKH-KA-RA 143
IXth dynasty, then the sa ra taken out of the cartouche,
and made a regular prefix. We see that no scarabs can
be fixed to the earlier kings ; they first appear, but poor
and small, under Mentuhotep II.; under Antef V. they
improve ; under Mentuhotep III. the example we have
is fine ; and under his successor Sankhkara the work
is beautifully delicate. In the spread of power we see
same growth. Limited first to his nome, prince Antef
is a humble servant of the suzerain in Herakleopolis ;
next, the king Mentuhotep I. asserts his royalty on the
southern frontier ; next, Antefs II. and III. appear with
a fine royal tomb at Thebes, and well-executed gilt
mummy-cases ; then Mentuhotep II. brings stone from
Hammamat, and boasts of conquering thirteen tribes in
the south ; Antef V. builds at Koptos, puts up obelisks
at Thebes, and boasts of conquering both Asiatics and
negroes ; Mentuhotep III. builds a temple at Thebes,
puts up many monuments, encourages art, and is
reverenced to late ages ; while, lastly, Sankhkara sends
out a foreign expedition, having apparently little to
distract him at home. The march of development of
this dynasty shows hardly a break ; of Antef IV. the
deficiency of monuments prevents our noting an advance ;
but there is no evidence of retrogression. The only
points where any change is likely to be made by fresh
discoveries is in the number of Antefs before Mentu-
hotep I., and in the position of the remains we have
attributed to Antef IV.
As to the duration of this dynasty, we have but
little information. Sankh*ka*ra reigned over 8 years ;
Neb'kher'ra reigned over 46 years ; Nub'kheperu'ra
appears to have had a longish reign ; Antef IV.
reigned over 50 years, and therefore Antef V. might
have been his grandson ; but that is balanced by the
fact of Antef II. being brother of Antef III. On the
whole, we seem to count here nine generations ; and if
we allow not the thirty years of an average European
generation, but twenty years each for a succession of
Oriental eldest sons, we may set it down as at least 180
years for the whole duration of this list of kings, or 1 20
144 SANKH -KARA [imr. n. 9
years for the six independent kings recognised in the
Turin papyrus ; but the statement of 43 years in
Manetho points to most of this dynasty having been
contemporary with the Xth dynasty.
We should now note some remains whose position
is uncertain, but which belong to an earlier date than
the Xllth dynasty. Of uncertain remains of the Antef
period is a false door at Abydos, which mentions the
king (sa'ra* Antef 'aa) as living then (M.A. 544) ; a stele
of Aui, who names Amen^aa as the great hen ka in the
house of Antef (W.G. 225) ; and the song in the palace
of Antef by the harper, on the vanity of life, a well-
known literary work, of which many copies have come
to us more or less mutilated (R.P. iv. 117, vi. 129;
Jour. Asiat. vii. xv. 398). A queen Mentuhotep is
known to us from her coffin and toilet box (A.Z. xxx.
46, xxxi. 23). The coffin is now destroyed ; but a copy
of its inscriptions shows that it was for the " great royal
wife Mentuhotep, begotten of the vizier, the keeper of
the palace, Senb*hena*f, and born of the heiress Sebek-
hotep" (S.B.A. xiv. 41). A prince of this line is also
known, ** Heru'nefer, son of king Mentuhotep and the
great royal wife Sherfsat" (S.B.A. xiv. 41). In the
Vatican is a head of a statue of rough work with the
name of ** the good god Mentuhotep."
A scarab has the name An'n'n'fu'f, a spelling which
is unexpected at this period (G. Coll.).
At Khataaneh, a queen*s name, Sent, is found * she
was heiress, royal wife, and royal mother, and is attri-
buted to this period (N.G. ix.).
II.C 2778-3565.1 TWELFTH DYNASTY 145
CHAPTER VIII
Twelfth Dynasty
Manetho. Lists. Monuments. Years. b.c. about
M. T.P. Mon.
277S
Ammenemes S'hetep'ab'ra Amenemhat I. 16 [1)9 20
Coreg-ency 10
Sesonkh5sis Kheper'ka'ra Usertesen I. 46 45. . 32
Coreg-ency 2
Ammanemes Nub'kauTa Amenemhat II. 38 ... 30
Coreg-ency 3
SesSstris Kha'kheper'ra Usertesen II. 48 [2]9 10
Lakhares Kha*kau*ra Usertesen IIL 8 3- 26
2758
2748
2716
271^
2684
2681
266c
2622
Ammeres MaSfen'ra Amenemhat III. 84- 44
m.d. 2578
Ammenemes Maa'kheru'ra Amenemhat IV. 8 9* 3*27 6
Skemiofris Sebek'neferu'ra Sebek'nefeniTa 4 3*io'24 ...
2569
2565
Totals stated(^^^^3-i-i7?
1245
The twelfth dynasty is perhaps the best known chrono-
logically of any before the Greek times ; yet here in
I — 10
146 TWELFTH DYNASTY tow. xii.
some reigns uncertainties beset us. The first four kings
are well fixed, by monuments with double datings,
which prove exactly when each king took his successor
into coregency. Thus only the total lengths of their
reigns remains unsettled.
Of Amenemhat I. we have the double date of his
30th year=ioth of Usertesen I. (M.A. 558). Manetho
omitted him from the Xllth, and put him as an
addendum of 16 years at the end of the Xlth. But
the far earlier Turin papyrus puts him down as the first
of the Xllth dynasty, and makes the summaries count
from him.
Usertesen I. had 10 years or more with his father,
and 32 years alone, associating Amenemhat II. in the
42nd year ; as there is a double date of his 44th = 2nd
of Amenemhat II (L.A. x. 3).
Amenemhat II. had two or three years with his
father, about 30 years alone, and three or more with
his successor ; as there is a double date of his 35th
year = 3rd year of Usertesen II. (L.A. x. 4).
Usertesen II. 's reign is very unsettled. Manetho
gives 48 years for it, but this seems quite unsupported.
No higher date has been found than year 10. But we
shall see from the totals of the dynasty that there is
some reason to assign 29 years to Usertesen 11. until
the coregency of his successor ; and he appears to
have lived about ten years more, as (except a war-
record of Usertesen III. in his eighth year) there is no
dated record of Usertesen III. until the tenth year.
The Turin papyrus shows — 9 years ; suggesting 29
years for this reign before the coregency.
Of Usertesen III. we may glean somewhat from the
lists. His monuments go to the 26th year, the Turin
papyrus shows over 30 years, and the 8 of Manetho
suggests that it w:is 38.
Amenemhat III. had apparently no coregency, as
monuments are dated in his first and second years.
We can hardly do better than accept the highest
datum known of his, 44 years. And there is no
evidence that the short 9 years of Amenemhat IV. or
B.C 2778-3565*1
TWELFTH DYNASTY
«47
the 4 years of Sebekneferu were shared with any other
ruler.
We have then the following data : —
Years beforb
Total
^ ^* #« Vk^^
Son's Coregrncy.
Years.
B.c« a,tx>
Amenemhal I. . . . 20
30
2778
2758
Usertesen I
42
45
2716
Amenemhat II.
32
35
2684
Usertesen II.
29?
39?
2660
* ^XTsertesen III.
38
38
2627
Amenemhat III. .
44
44
2578
Amenemhat IV.
9
9
2569
Sebekneferu ....
4
4
2565
Totals here 218
244
Total in T. P.
213, in Man
• 245
Here we see that the only datum we have partly
assumed — the reign of Usertesen II. — serves to bring
the total of the dynasty near that of the Turin
papyrus, and the total of the reigns to agree with
Manetho in Eusebius, as the difference of some few
years is easily made up by whole years being counted
instead of years and odd months and days. We have,
however, adopted the total of the T.P. , and thrown the
whole difference on Usertesen II. in the dates B.C.,
as that is the least certain point. The other total
given in Manetho by Africanus is a copyist's correc-
tion after the corruption of the years of reigns, as
160 is just the total of the figures as they stand in
Manetho now.
i^ '^
SEHOTEPABRA
(DYN. XII. I.
XII. I. Se'hotep
Amenemhat I
•AB-RA (f P f^ ^"^
•a
about
2778-
2748
B.C.
]
Pyramid
Tanis
Khataanah
Bubastis
Memphis
Krokodilopolis
Abydos
Hammamat
Koptos
Kamak
Elephantine
Aswan
Korosko
(In Berlin)
Cylinders and
Scarabs.
Papyri
JiTa ne/er (site unknown)
Statue
Lintel
Jamb
Altar
Statue
Altar
Inscriptions
Sculpture
Altar and statue
Inscription
Inscriptions
Inscription
Altar
(P.R. ii. 108).
(P.T.I, i. 3; xiii. i).
(A.Z, XXV. 12 ; N.G.
(N.B. xxxiii. A).
(M.D. 34f).
fL.D. ii. 118 e, f).
(M.A. 1338)....
(G. H. ii. 4, iii. 3, viii.
(M.K. 8 d, e).
(P.S. 308).
(P.S. 67, 179).
(A.Z. xxii. 30).
(L.D. ii. 118 i).
9 a).
).
Fig. 89. — Scarab
(E. Coll.).
Instructions of Amen- (S.S.A.).
emhat 1.
Sa'nehat's Adventures (Ms. C. 95 ; S.B.A. xiv. 452).
Although the latter part of the Xlth dynasty seems
to emerge from the confusion into a tolerably stable
and important condition, yet it was the glory of the
twelfth dynasty to promote far more organisation and
justice than had been reached before. We see this
reflected in the ka names of the kings, which form a
sort of summary in mottoes of the aim of each monarch.
Antef III. is ** opening or beginning justice " ; Mentu-
hotep II. is "lord of the two lands," a matter merely
of possession and might; Mentuhotep III. is "uniting
the two lands"; Sankhkara is "making his two
lands to live"; and Amenemhat I., having entered
into full possession of the country, needs not refer to
its division, but takes the motto "renewing births"
as reinstituting the living organisation of everything
B.C 2778-a748.1 AMENEMHAT I 149
in the country ; while Usertesen I. carries on the idea
in the phrase "life of the births," or the national life
as renewed and born again. Thus in this series we see
expressed the royal motto of each king, that name
which he took for his ka on his accession, apparently
as his claim to the favour of the gods, when his ka
should appear before them, and join Ra after his death.
These mottoes generally refer to the care of the king
for his royal duties to the country over which he ruled ';
and in this case of an emerging civilisation, the
sentences give a beautiful sketch of the pi\)gress of
the country under a fine of strong rulers, granting
justice, subduing the land, uniting it, making it live,
renewing its birth of social life, and cultivating the
renewed life thus regained.
The document which gives most direct light on the
state of the country is the biography of the grand-
father of Khnum'hotep at Beni Hasan. The king
Amenemhat I. placed the grandfather (who appears to
have been a previous Khnum'hotep) "as hereditary
prince, administrator of the eastern desert in the town
of Menat'khufu ; establishing for him the south land-
mark, and making firm the northern one like heaven,
and dividing for him the great river down its middle,
setting its eastern half to the nome of the * Rock of
Horus,' reaching to the east desert. Whereas his
majesty came that he might abolish wrong, gloriously
appearing even as the god Tum himself ; that he might
set right that which he found ruined, and that which
one city had taken from its sister city ; that he might
cause one city to know its boundary with another city ;
establishing their landmarks as heaven ; reckoning
their waters according to that which was in the
writings, apportioning according to that which was
in antiquity, of the greatness of his love of right.
He arose and placed him (Khnum'hotep) as hereditary
prince, favoured by the royal hand, great chief of the
Oryx nome. He set up the landmarks ; the southern
one as his boundary to the Hare nome, his northern
one to the Jackal nome ; he divided the great river
ISO SEHOTEPABRA (n™. xit t
valley down its middle, its water, Its fields, its wood,
its sand, as far as the western desert." We see here
the personal care of a vi|forous administrator in renew-
ing the birth of all the social organisation of the country
{G. Bh. 58).
In every part of Egypt we find alike this remarkable
vigour of the new administration. Amenemhat must
have been one of the most active and capable monarchs
in the whole history of Egypt. From the edge of the
Delta at Tanis to the wilds of Upper Nubia at Korosko
we alike find the remains of his works. Instead of one
or two monuments, as of the previous kings, we see a
number which shows that he built and offered in most
of the great towns of the country.
Beginning at the north, it appears that he must have
decorated the temple of Tanis, an excellent statue of
his, still remaining there (Fig. 90}. brutally usurped in
after times by Merenptah
(p.T. I. :. 3; xiii. .).
And from the quality of
the red granite resembling
that of the granite columns
there, and from the bril-
liant finish of these columns,
we can hardly doubt that
they are a part of a rich
temple built there by this
king.
At Khataanah, near
Tanis, is a fine lintel of a
doorway erected by Amen-
emhat I. in red granite ; and
the later additions there
by his successors point to
a noble building having stood
there (A.Z. xxv. 12; N.G.
9 a).
At Bubastis a block of
this king records his making monuments to his mother
Bast (N.B. xxxiii. A).
B.C. a77ft-a748.] AMENEMHAT I 151
At Memphis, in the Kom el Qalah, was a red granite
altar dedicated by the king to Ptah (M.D. 34 f.).
At Krokodilopolis is the lower part of a red granite
seated group of Amenemhat and Bast, side by side
(L.D. ii. 118 e, f. ; but see P.H. 57).
At Abydos was found a red granite altar, dedicated
by the king to Osiris (M.A. 1338).
In the Wady Hammamat is a long inscription of an
official, a priest of Min, named Antef, who was sent to
Rehenu to bring noble hard stone. For eight days he
sought for it in the mountain, and could find none suit-
able. In despair, he threw himself on his face and
prayed to Min, Mut, Urfhekau, and all the gods of the
desert, and offered incense. The next day he searched
in four rocks more, and at last found the stone. This
touching record of his troubles is irregularly squeezed
in at the bottom of the fine, pompous inscription, which
he evidently set his masons to cut when beginning this
weary eight days' search, and before he anticipated his
difficulties (L.D. ii. 118 d; G.H. viii.). Two other
inscriptions of the same reign record the work of one
Ada in bringing stones for Zautaker, a divine father
and priest of Min ; probably for decorating the temple
of Min of Koptos. He brought two stones of 10 cubits
long (G.H. ii. 4), and one of 12 cubits, for which he
had a party of two hundred men, two oxen, and fifty
asses (G.H. iii. 3).
At Koptos, a beautifully-sculptured slab in relief (Fig.
91) shows that this king rebuilt or decorated the temple
there.
At Karnak is a group of two figures with the names
of Amenemhat (M.K. 8 d), and, as at so many other
places, an altar of granite with his dedication, in this
case to Amen'ra (M.K. 8 e). These show us the
beginning of the decoration of the temple, founded
by Mentuhotep, which afterwards became so great
by successive additions.
At Elephantine, Amenemhat added his tablet on
the rock of kings, which already bore the names of four
monarchs (P.S. 308). And a little farther we find, just
"5»
SE'HOTEP-AB-RA
above the cataract, a high pile of rock by the river
bearing his name on the very top of it, and referring
apparently to the obtaining of stone for his pyramid
(P.S. 67) ; while another rude inscription by the cata-
ract is dated in his reign {P.S. 179).
Nubia also was subject to this king. In the " Instruc-
tions of Amenemhat to his son," he declares that he had
fought the Wawat (Nubians), the Mezau {S. Nubians),
Fig. 91.— Slab at Amenemhai I. Koptos.
and the Sati (Asiatics). That this Nubian conquest was
more than a boast is proved by the pithy record on a
rock at Korosko : " In the 29th year of S'hotep'ab'ra,
ever living, they came to overthrow the Wawat," This
campaign was doubtless carried on by Usertesen I., like
the campaign against the Libyans in the following
year, during which the old king died in Memphis.
Of his pyramid, called J^a ne/er, we do not yet know
the place ; and the name of it is only recorded on a
B.C a778-a74B.l AMENEMHAT I 153
stele of Hor, who was a priest of the pyramid in the
ninth year of Usertesen I. This, dating by the young
king a year before the old king's death, shows how
completely the reins had fallen from the hands of that
great man, whose abilities had again raised Egypt to
the front rank of the world. He died early in his thirtieth
year of reign, on the 7th of Paophi. (See Sanehat.)
Several private monuments are dated in this reign ;
but when such do not refer to historical events, we
shall not notice them in this account, except where the
name of a king is so rare that the smallest detail is of
value.
Several scarabs and a cylinder of Amenemhat are
known. Some rude scarabs, inscribed Ra's'Jwtep'abj
may, however, rather belong to the kings of that name
in the Xlllth dynasty. Some of the work of the scarabs
is fnost exquisite in detail.
We shall now turn to a vivid picture of the life and
connections of Egypt at this age, in the Adventures of
Sa'nehat, or the ** Son of the Sycamore." As the tale
will soon be printed in full, we will only epitomise it to
point out its interest. The story is in the form of an
autobiography, and Sanehat begins by stating his
titles, which were of high rank, — hereditary prince,
royal seal-bearer, confidential friend, judge, keeper of
the gate of the foreigners, true and beloved royal
acquaintance, follower of the king, of the household
of the queen. He was in the army commanded by the
coregent Usertesen I. on an expedition against the
Temehu, or Libyans. As they were returning, laden
with spoil, messengers came to the coregent to inform
him secretly that his father had died. Sanehat was
standing by, and overheard the news. At once he was
seized with panic fear, and fled away to Syria. The
cause of his terror has always been a question to trans-
lators ; but we may guess, from the familiar manner in
which he is received by the royal family on his return
in his old age, — with a stipulation that none of his chil-
dren should come with him, — that he may have been a
154 SE-HOTEP'AB'RA [dyn. xii. i.
son of Amenemhat I. During his father's life he would
be safe, but so soon as the old king died, he dreaded
being cut off by the heir, who might see in him a
possible rival. Thus the difficulties and unexplained
points of the tale receive a consistent solution : the
many high offices held by one who was quite young ;
the frantic terror of his flight, the familiar reception on
his return, and the leaving of all his family and goods
behind him on re-entering Egypt.
After fleeing from the army, when he heard of the
king's death on the road from the Natron lakes, he
went south, slept one night in the open fleld, got to
about Gizeh the next afternoon, ferried himself over
the river on a raft, passed Gebel Ahmar, and came to a
frontier wall. After a rest there, he went on by night
to escape the guards, and reached the Wady Tumilat
next day, where he almost perished from thirst. Some
Bedawin found him and rescued him, and he passed on
from tribe to tribe till he reached Edom. There, after
a time, he found favour with the prince of the hill
country of Judea, who was probably in the region of
Hebron, judging by the allusions to a goodly land, with
figs and grapes, honey, olives, and fruits, barley and
wheat without end, and much cattle. There he married
the eldest daughter of the prince, and his children each
became shekh of a tribe. He generalled the fighting
men of his father-in-law, and had a grand single combat
with a champion of a neighbouring tribe, in the manner
of Goliah. In his old age he longed to see again
his native land, and sent a petition to Usertesen, in
which he recites his present condition, and asks, ** Let
this flight obtain thy forgiveness, that I may be ap-
pointed in the palace, that I may see the place where
my heart dwells. How great a thing is it that my body
may be embalmed in the land where I was born ! To
return there is happiness." The king replied to him,
with presents, and the royal family sent him greetings.
The royal message was gracious, accepting his assur-
ances, informing him that the queen and family were
well, and telling him, ** Leave all the riches that thou
B.C. 8778-8748.] AMENEMHAT I 155
hast, and that are with thee, altogether. When thou
shalt come into Egypt, behold the palace ; and when
thou shalt enter the palace, bow thy face to the ground
before the Great House ; thou shalt be chief among the
companions. And day by day behold thou growest old ;
thy vigour is lost ; and thou thinkest on the day of
burial. Thou shalt see thyself come to the blessed
state ; they shall give thee the bandages from the hand of
Tait, the night of applying the oil of embalming. They
shall follow thy funeral, and visit the tomb on the day
of burial, which shall be in a gilded case, the head
painted with blue, a canopy of cypress wood above thee,
and oxen shall draw thee, the singers going before
thee, and they shall dance the funeral dance. The
weepers crouching at the door of thy tomb shall cry
aloud the prayers for offerings ; they shall slay victims
for thee at the door of thy pit ; and thy pyramid shall
be carved in white stone, in the company of the royal
children. Thus thou shalt not die in a strange land,
nor be buried by the Amu ; thou shalt not be laid in a
sheepskin when thou art buried ; all people shall beat
the earth and lament on thy body when thou goest to
the tomb."
Sanehat was delighted at this reply, and sent a long
letter of adoration to the king, in which he says, ** I
w^ho speak to thee shall leave my goods to the genera-
tions to follow in this land." He then made a feast,
and bade farewell to all, giving his goods and estates
to his eldest son. And, setting forth, he was received
by the frontier officers, and passed on to the palace,
meeting royal provision sent for him by the way.
From this he gave presents to his followers who had
come so far with him, and sent them back, committing
himself entirely to the four messengers sent to conduct
him. The king received him graciously, and then
called in the queen and family, who could not recognise
him at first. When assured of the wanderer's return,
the royal daughters performed a dance and chorus of
praise to the king. Then Sanehat was accompanied
out of the palace, hand in hand with the royal children,
SE-HOTEP-ABRA
[DYN. XII. X.
and given an establishment. He cast away his foreign
dress, and had his long hair shaved off; he dressed in
fine linen, anointed himself with the finest oil, and
slept on a bedstead, no longer lying on the sand. A
grand tomb was built for him by the king, and he
ends by a wish that he may continue in the king's
favour. From the absence of any account of his burial,
it seems that this was a real autobiography, composed
by the old man before he died. It gives a very curious
view of the relation of Egypt to Syria at the beginning
of the twelfth dynasty. A fugitive Egyptian was
superior to the Syrians, and by his education and
ability might rise to high power, much like some
English adventurer in Central Africa at the present
time.
XII. 2. Kheper-ka'ra
( e ul -^yig-
USERTESEN I
•n
n
A/N/\/V\A
]
Wady Magfhara
Sarbut el Khadcm
Tanis
Faqus
Heliopolis
Begig
Hat-nub
Abydos
Hammamat
Koptos
Karnak
Taud
Hieraconpolis
Aswan
Wady Haifa
Wady Haifa
(Florence)
Wady Haifa
Stele
Stele
Statues
Sphinx
Obelisk
Obelisk
Graffito
Statue
Inscription
Sculptures
Inscription
Altar
Columns
Inscriptions
Brick temple
Stele
Stele
Brugsch, Hist. 139.
(P.T. i. 4, ii. 5, 8, xiii.
2, 3, 4) (and Berlin).
(A.Z. xxiii. 11).
(L.D. ii. ii8h).
(L.D. ii. 119).
(F.H. X.).
(M.A. 345).
(My. E. 326).
Fig. 92. —
(M.K. 8a-c). Scarab
(A.Z. XX. 123). (F. P. Coll.).
(My. E. 508).
(L.D. ii. ii8a-c;
P.S. 91, 113, 271, 273).
(S. Cat. F. 1542).
(Ashmolean Museum).
B.C. a758-27i4.] KHEPER'KARA 157
Statue (B. Mus.).
Statuette, camelian (Formerly in Louvre).
Glazed vase from Abydos (M.A. 1466).
Marble vase (Piece in B. Mus.).
Shells (B. Mus., etc.).
Weight of Hor'mera (Vienna Rec. xii. 10).
Scarabs and Cylinders.
As we have seen, under the last reign, Usertesen
was associated for ten years with his father ; and
during at least the latter part of that time he carried
on the external affairs of the kingdom, by expeditions
both to the south and the west. So feeble does the
old king appear to have become, that the internal
administration also devolved upon the son very soon
after his accession.
A leather roll, written under Amenhotep IV., pro-
fesses to give a copy of the account concerning the
building of the temple of Heliopolis in the third year of
Usertesen, that is, seven years before his father's death;
and he is stated to have been crowned with the double
crown, and surrounded by his courtiers. Little, how-
ever, can be learned from this composition, which is
poetical in arrangement, and appears to be entirely a
piece of "fine writing." But as the ceremonial reciter
(Kher'heb) is stated to have stretched the cord and
laid the foundation in the ground, it must speak of an
original building, and not of a mere restoration (A.Z.
xii. 85, R.P. xii. 53). Of the work of this temple
nothing now remains but the one celebrated obelisk of
Heliopolis (L.D. ii. ii8h), which records that it was
made in the beginning of the Sed festival of thirty
years. The fellow obelisk to this was not overthrown
till 1258 A.D. according to Makrizi ; and in 1200 a.d.
the obelisks still retained their ancient caps of copper,
according to Abd el Latif (cap. iv.).
From a tablet of the first year at Aswan (P.S. 271),
and this above record of the third year, there is a series
of dated inscriptions, mostly private, which extend
throughout the reign to the forty-fourth year. This
custom of dating monuments is but little known before
138
KHEPER-KA-RA
the Xllth dynasty, and is not so usual after this period ;
but a special fashion of precise dating seems to have
prevailed during this age. As there is apparently little
to be learned from these private monuments that are
dated, we shall continue to notice the remains in
geographical order, as that yields a view of the regions
of activity in the various reigns.
In the Sinaitic peninsula Usertesen again asserted
the Egyptian power, and at Wady Maghara (Br. Hist.
md Sarbut el Khadem are memorials of his time.
At Tanis he placed at least
three statues. The bust of
one of these still remains
(Fig. 93), in black granite,
of glass-like polish (P.T. I.
phot. xiii. 2). Another, also
in black granite, is perhaps
unique among Egyptian
sculptures for having no
back pedestal or pier, the
whole body being admir-
ably carved on all sides
(P.T. I. phot. xiii. 3, 4);
this was more complete in
Burton's time, and is shown
by his copy to belong to
this king. Yet a third
statue of grey granite is in
evidence, by a piece of the
base (P.T. I. ii. 8). All of
these were barbarously
ruined by Merenptah, who
battered his name in upon
the exquisitely finished sur-
faces. Near Tanis, at
Faqus, a red granite sphinx has been found, which is
probably of Usertesen (A, Z. xxiii. 11).
Passing Heliopolls, above noted, and the temple of
Memphis, which seems to have been completed before
ilaclt granite, Tanis.
c. 3758-4JM.1
USERTESEN I
•59
Usertesen, a remarkable red granite obelisk is found
in the Fayum, at Begig. This differs from all other
monoliths in Egypt, being rounded at the top with a
cylindrical curvature parallel with the wide face (L.D.
ii. 119). The steles of Medum are rounded with a
spherical curve, which shows of course most promin-
ently on the broad face ; whereas this is rectangular in
front \iew, and only curved in side \iew The subject
of decoration is also peculiar The upper part of the
face is occupied by five courses ot scenes and 13
lines of hieroglyphs below them Each course re-
FiG. 94. — Road up to tomb of Ameny,
presents Usertesen adoring four divinities, twenty
in all. The block was 41 feet high and 7 and 4 feet
at the base ; but it is now overthrown and broken in
two. This shows that the Fayum continued to attract
attention, Amenemhat I. having begun to occupy it,
and Amenemhat III. having specially developed it,
as we shall notice further on.
Next, at Beni Hasan (Fig. 94), is one of the fullest
records of this time, in the tombof Ameny. He was the
hereditary noble of the Oryx nome, and succeeded to the
i6o KHEPER'KA-RA dyn. xii. «.
princedom in the eighteenth year of Usertesen I., as
his tomb is dated in the twenty-fifth year of his rule and
the forty-third of the reign of the king. He records :
" I followed my lord when he sailed up the river to
overthrow his enemies in the four foreign lands
(probably Upper and Lower Nubia, east and west).
I sailed up as the son of the prince {t.e, before the
eighteenth year of the king), royal seal-bearer, com-
mander of the soldiers of the Oryx nome, as a man
replaces an aged father, according to the favours of
the king's house and his love in the palace. I passed
through Ethiopia in sailing southward, I removed the
boundary of the land. I brought the tribute of my
lord, my praise reached unto heaven. His majesty
arose, and went in peace. He overthrew his enemies
in Kush. Following his majesty, I returned, sharp of
face, and without loss of my soldiers.
"I sailed up the river to bring treasures of gold to the
majesty of Usertesen I. I sailed up with the hereditary
prince, the eldest son of the king, of his body, Ameni
(afterwards Amenemhat II.), I sailed up with 400
men of every chosen man of my soldiers. Returning in
peace, they had not diminished. I brought the gold
appointed to me, and I was praised for it in the palace,
and the king's son thanked God for me.
"I arose and sailed up the river to bring treasures
to the city of Koptos with the hereditary prince, the
vizier Usertesen, I sailed up with 600 men of every
valiant man of the Oryx nome, I returned in peace, and
my army safely, I had done all that was ordered to
me.
* * I was in favour and much beloved, a ruler who loved
his city. Moreover, I passed years as ruler in the
Oryx nome. All the works of the king's house came
into my hands. Behold he set me over the gangers of
the lands of the herdsmen in the Oryx nome, and
3000 bulls of their draught stock Not a
daughter of a poor man did I wrong, not a widow did
I oppress, not a farmer did I oppose, not a herdsman did
I hinder. There was not a foreman of five from whom
USEBTESEN I
i6i
I took Kts men for the works. There was not a pauper
around me, there was not a hungry man in my time.
When there came years of famine, I arose. I ploughed
all the fields of the Oryx nome, to its southern and its
northern boundaries. I made its inhabitants live,
making; provision for them ; there was not a hungry
man in it, and I gave to the widow as to her that had
Fia 9$.— Uiettcun I.. AbrdcL
a husband : nor did 1 £i.vour the elder above the younger
in all that I gave. Afterward the great rises of the
Nile came, produdng wheat and barley, and producing
all things, and I did not exact the arrears of the farm "
{G.B.H. 25).
Here we have a picture of the occupations of the old
feudal families of the various districts, tamed down and
i6i KHEPER-KA-RA li>vh iti ..
kept under restraint by the power of the Theban king's;
and employed in various pubhc missions and wars, or
else ruling their districts with care and justice.
At Abydos Usertesen was engaged on the temple of
Osiris. Mentuhotep, the chief architect, was also
governor of the east desert or red country, and a man
of almost royal importance ; among other works he
built the temple of Osiris, and sunk a well (M.A. 617).
These are probably the same as works mentioned by
an inferior official, Mery (P.R. ii. 104), who prepared a
noble place of eternity for Osiris, with a wall that
pierced heaven, a well
that reached down to the
river, and gates that hid
the sky. And this same
well appears to be men-
tioned by Strabo, who
describes a well at Aby-
dos, with adescentroofed
by admirable blocks of
stone. A statue of User-
tesen has also been found
there (Fig. 95) (M.A.
345 ; M.A. ii. 21 ; R.A.
phot. Ill, 112). This
building is referred to in
the Xlllth dynasty, when
Che colours and orna-
ments of Usertesen I.
were restored ; and in the
XXth dynasty, when
"the house of Amen
dated from Usertesen I.
and needed to be re-
newed " (B.H. 142, 133).
Fic. 56.-u«^™a r.. Kopios. Thedesertswerevisited
as under the previous
kings, and an inscription at Hammamat {My. E. 326)
shows the royal power. At Koptos a portion of a noble
gateway and blocks of sculpture indicate that User-
B.C. 9758-a7»4l USERTESEN I 163
tesen much adorned, if he did not rebuild, the temple.
He is shown adoring Min, Bast, and Nekhebt in different
parts (Fig. 96).
At Karnak the works begun by Amenemhat were
carried on by his son. A block bears his name, and
Others, apparently of the same work, are dated in the
twentieth year (M.K. 8 a-c).
Farther south, at Shekh Taud, the Greek Tuphion,
opposite to Erment, was found a red granite table of
offerings (now in G. Mus.; A.Z. xx. 123). Beyond
that, at Hieraconpolis, in the mounds of the town were
found polygonal columns of this king (My. E. 508).
At the cataract are some rock inscriptions, dated in
the first year (P.S. 271), thirty-third year (L.D. ii.
iiSc), forty-first year (P.S. 91), and two undated (P.S.
ii3»273).
But the important memorial in the south is the tablet
from Wady Haifa (now in Florence), which records
the conquest of several negro tribes, Kas, Shemyk,
Khesaa, Shat, Akherkin, etc. (S. Cat. F. 1542). Un-
fortunately the front edge of the inscription is broken ;
but a fragment with the date of this expedition in the
eighteenth year has been lately recovered by Captain
Lyons, who has also found another tablet (now in
Oxford, S.B.A. xvi. 16), and has examined the brick
temple of this king at Wady Haifa.
Several private monuments are dated in the king's
reign ; and the following persons are more or less of
interest —
Khnem'nekht was born in first year of Amenemhat,
and dated his stele in seventh year of Usertesen, when
he was therefore 27 years old, at Abydos (A.Z. xix.
116).
Hor, priest of the pyramid Ka'nefer of Amenemhat I.,
dated his stele in ninth year of Usertesen (P.R. ii.
108).
Heru'em'hat, an unusual name (Leyden, Lb. D.
102).
Mery, builder of temple of Abydos, ninth year (P.R.
ii. 104).
164
KHEPER'KA-RA
[DYM. XII. 2.
Up'uat'aa, stele double dated in the forty-fourth year,
and second year of Amenemhat 11. (Leyden, L.A., x.).
Mentuhetep, builder of the temple at Abydos (M.A.
617).
Hepzefa, of the great tomb at Asyut (G.S. iv.).
Of small objects, there are some shells inscribed with
the royal names (B. Mus.) ; a carnelian statuette was
in the Louvre, but was stolen in the Revolution of 1830 ;
a glazed vase was found at Abydos (M.A. 1466) ; a
piece of a vase of the blue-white marble, characteristic
of this age, bears the name (B. Mus.) ; there are also
many scarabs, some plain, others of the symmetrical
style of ornament, and with scroll-work ; also a few
cylinders of glazed stone.
An interesting weight, bearing the name of the king,
belonged to a goldsmith, Hormera (Vienna, Rec. xii.
10); it weighs 853 grains, or four of the gold standard
of 213 grains. Probably the plaque with the same
name (formerly in the Palin Coll.), is another weight of
this person.
XII. 3.
NUB'KAU'RA
Amenemhat II
>J about
o p==«i U U U 1 2716-
y\ 2681 B.C.
Pyramid
Sarbut el Khadem
Dehdamun
Nebesheh
Beni Hasan
El Bersheh
Abydos
Wady Gasus
Hammamat
El Hosh
Aswan
Cylinders and
Scarabs
Kherp (Site unknown).
Temple (My. E. 351).
Granite altar (A.Z. xxiii. 12).
,, (P.T. II. ix. i).
Khnemhotep tomb (G, Bh. 58).
Colossus tomb (L.D. ii. .134-135).
Sahathor stele ~
Inscription
Tablet
Inscriptions
(A.Z. xii. 112).
(A.Z. XX. 203).
(My. E. 326).
(My. E. 512)
UL.D. ii. 123, a, b, e). ^^
I (L.A. X. 4). Pig ,
97. — Scarab
(G. Coll.).
B.C 9716-2681.1 NUB-KAU-RA 165
«
As we have already seen, the new king began his
reign at least two years before the death of Usertesen
I. He appears to have kept up the traditions of the
dynasty, but no great events marked this time.
The pyramid of this king was named Kherp, as
shown by a stele of a priest of the pyramid (B. Mus. ;
A.Z. xii. 112). And as no two pyramids are known to
have the same name, this serves to identify the king
with an abbreviated form of his name, where Sa'hathor
says that he was beloved of Nub'kau'ra, and was sent
to do the. work for the temple of Amenu at the Kherp
pyramid (S.B.A. xiv. 39). Thus Amenu (and probably
Ameny) was a recognised familiar name for the longer
Amenemhat, for royal persons, as it was also in private
life at Beni Hasan.
Nub'kau*ra appears to have formally established the
mining works at Sarbut el Khadem (Fig. 98), and to
have founded the temple there (My. E. 351). But in
Eastern Egypt his work is not found at the great centres
of Tanis or Bubastis, but only at the lesser sites,
which perhaps he was the first to adorn. At Dehda-
mun, near Faqus, a granite altar of his was found by
an Arab of the district, and sold to the Ghizeh Museum ;
it is of veined red granite, and very finely worked (A.Z.
xxiii. 12). And in the same region, at Nebesheh, were
the remains of an altar of black granite, which bore a
remarkable added inscription of later date by a royal
seal-bearer (P.T. H. ix. i).
But at Beni Hasan is the principal inscription of this
reign in the tomb of Khnem'hotep (Tomb 3). He states
that Nub'kau'ra raised him to the place of his father as
prince in the nineteenth year, in the town of Menat-
Khufu. He then describes all the religious and funerary
foundations that he established, both for his father and
for the various festivals. He also arose to favour and
power at the court. His son was advanced to be ruler
of the Jackal nome, and the boundaries and details were
settled by the king. His other son was also advanced.
And lastly, he describes a grand mortuary chapel for
his father, which he had constructed (G. Bh. 61). All
i66 NUB-KAURA tnvK, „„. 3.
of this is quite different from the labours of the earlier
reigns. No great settlement of the country, no foreign
warlike expeditions, break in on the prosperous tran-
quillity of either sovereign or subject.
The tombs of El Bersheh are now of importance
at this period ; and the tomb of Tahuti'hotep bears
98.— Sarbut el Khadera.
the celebrated scene of the dragging of a colossus on a
sledge by gangs of labourers (L.D. li. 134, 135}.
Abydos continued to be of the greatest importance
for burials. The tomb of Sa-hathor there records
that he was beloved by the king Nub'kau'ra, and was
sent on many missions. Among others he went to the
town of the iherp pyramid of Amenu to do work on
II.C. 2716-2681.] AMENEMHAT II 167
fifteen statues of hard stone, which he finished in
two months. In his youth he worked the mines in
Nubia, and made the chiefs have gold washed for
him (A.Z. xii. 112). The other tablets of the
tombs record nothing of importance in this uneventful
reign.
The desert, however, was worked as before. At
Wady Gasus a small temple existed, from which two
steles have come, one of this reign, one of the next.
The first records how it was put up by a noble named
Khenti'kheti'ur, seal-bearer, keeper of the storehouse,
who came in peace from Punt with his boats in the
twenty-fourth year (A.Z. xx. 203).
In Hammamat there is said to be an inscription also
of this king (My. E. 326). And one has been seen at
El Hosh, near Silsileh, dated in the seventeenth year
(My. E. 512).
At Aswan there are a few inscriptions of this time,
but none of historical import (L.D. ii. 123, a, b, e).
Among the private tablets, one of Mentu'sa (B. Mus.,
Sharpe, i. 83) records that he was born in the first
year of Amenemhat I., and erects his tablet in the third
year of Amenemhat II., when he must therefore have
been 52 years old.
The end of this king, according to Manetho, was
that he was slain by his chamberlains : an inglorious
end to a tranquil life of easy prosperity.
There are many small amulets, cylinders, and
scarabs ; but the workmanship shows a great falling
off from that of the previous reigns, and the old high
level of delicate and regular work was never reached
again in this dynasty.
The scarabs of Sankh'ka'ra, Amenemhat I., and
Usertesen I. are perhaps unrivalled in any other period
for their finish.
i68
KHA-KHEPERRA
[DYN. XII. 4.
XII. 4. Kha-kheper'raI O Q
c
J
about 2684-
2660 B.C.
USERTESEN II.
n
n
/www
1
Pyramid
Tanis
Memphis
lUahun
Ahnas
Beni Hasan
Qos€r
Hieraconpolis
Aswan
Statues
Hotep
Queen Nefert
Inscription
Pyramid and Temple
Blocks
Khnem hotep
Stele
Statue
Stele
Illahun.
(P.T. II. xi. 171).
(M.D. 27 a).
(P.I. ii. xiv.).
(N.A. i.).
(N.Bh. xxxviii.).
(A.Z. XX. 204).
(Rec. X. 139).
(L.D. ii. 123 d).
8).
Berlin and Louvre.
Scarabs, cylinders, etc.
Qtieen — Nefert (P.T. II. xi. 171).
Daughters — Atmu neferu(?) (P.I. xii. 6, 7,
Sat'hathor (Dahshur).
Senfs'senb (Dahshur).
Of this king we have fortunately found
the pyramid and pyramid- town, whicfar
gives a more complete idea of the civil-
isation of this reign than we have yet
obtained of most other periods. The
pyramid of Illahun is at the mouth of
the channel in the desert which leads
into the Fayum ; and we have already
noticed how the kings of this dynasty
~ 7~ have left their remains in the Fayum,
^'^'(^'mS)?^^'^ ^"^ organised that province. Usertesen
II. placed his pyramid where it was still
in the Nile valley ; but from the top of it the Fayum is
visible on looking up the channel between the desert
slopes.
The pyramid is peculiar (Fig. 100) ; the lower part of
it is of unmoved rock, which has been isolated from
the hill by a deep and wide cutting. Upon that rock
walls of large blocks arise, both diagonal and square
with the faces, and between these walls is filled in a
B.C. rfg, iSeo.] USERTESEN TI 169
brick pyramid. The outside was cased with fine lime-
stone, like the other pyramids. It seems that the
pyramids of the earlier kings had fallen a prey to
violence already ; the signs of personal spite in the
destructions are evident (P.P., and edition, 66, 67).
Therefore Usertesen II. determined to abandon the old
system of a north entrance in the face, and to conceal
the access to the interior by a new method. The
chambers were all excavated in the solid rock without
any upper opening, so that they could not be reached
ips around it).
by tracking between the rock and the building. And
the entrance was by a shaft outside of the south face
of the pyramid. Two shafts were made, and but for
such a doubling of these weak points, for the con-
venience of access of the workmen, it might have
remained inviolate (Fig. 101). The main shaft was so
carefully concealed under a deep mass of rubbish
in the plain, that it has never been found ; but the
small secondary shaft was only covered by the pyramid
pavement, and was opened up when that was removed
by Ramessu II.
■TO KHA-KHEPERRA fi>v«. «ii. 4-
The interior has a long sloping passage, rising up-
wards, so that water could not flood the sepulchre ;
this passage leads to a large chamber lined with lime-
stone, and that opens into another lined with red
granite, in which stands the sarcophagus (P.I. 1-4).
There is a curious passage cut in the rock passing
around the granite chamber, as if to prove to any
searcher that no other way opened out of that. In
the chamber stood the alabaster altar of offerings,
finely inscribed to Osiris and Anubis {P.I. iii.), "fiie
red granite sarcophagus ts exquisitely wrought ; the
errors of flatness and straightness being matters of
thousandths of an inch (P 1 3) It has a peculiar lip
around it, which has given some weight to the theory
that it has been refet in a new position, and that it
had been originally sunk in the floor. But any. such
theory of arrangement requires us to suppose a great
amount of reconstruction, of which there is no evidence
whatever.
Against the east face of the pyramid was a shrine
for the worship of the king, richly carved and painted.
The whole of this was smashed up by the masons
B.C. 2684-2660.1 USERTESEN II 171
of Ramessu II., who have left his name written
on a block. And the stonework from here appears
to have been removed to Ahnas, where the name
of Usertesen II. occurs on a block reworked by
Ramessu II.
About a mile to the east of the pyramid, opposite the
middle of the face, is a temple of larger size. This
stands on the edge of the desert hills, and would pro-
bably be the public temple, while the shrine by the
pyramid might be only for the priests. This had all
been destroyed, and only a coat of chips covered the
ground, many of them showing brilliant work and
colouring. A basalt statue had been here, of which
only a flake of the thigh remained ; also a shrine of
red granite, and a smaller statue of black granite,
of which chips were found. In the centre of the
area was a pit in the rock with foundation deposits
(P.K. 22).
Near the large pyramid stood a smaller one, the
chambers of which are also cut entirely in the rock,
without any opening but the entrance, which must be at
some distance, as it was not found in a wide clearance
around the site. A fragment of the shrine gives the
name of a princess beginning with Atmu, probably
Atmu-neferu (P.I. xii. 6, 7, 8).
By the site of the larger temple is the town of the
workmen who built the pyramid and temples ; this
place was known as ** Hat'hetep'Usertesen," and is
now named Kahun. Part of it is entirely denuded
away, but it yet occupies about 18 acres, within
which are over two thousand rooms. All of these
have lately been cleared, and the plans of the streets
and houses completely published (P.I. xiv.). From
this we learn the details of the houses of that age ;
both the mansions of the high officials, and the rows
of little dwellings for the workmen. The objects found
in this town throw much light on the civilisation ; and
the papyri form the majority of those known of this
age. The town appears to have been half deserted
after the pyramid and temple were finished ; and the
lya KHA-KHEPER-RA [dyn. xii. 4.
inhabitants who were left used the empty houses
for rubbish holes. But it seems that few, if any,
people remained there during the troubles of the
Hyksos period. A few houses were occupied under
the beginning of the XVIIIth dynasty, and then
it was left to the jackals, and gradually weathered
down.
At Beni Hasan is one of the most interesting records of
this age. Khnem'hotep is represented as receiving a
group of thirty-seven Aamu of the eastern desert, bear-
ing a tribute oikohl^ or eye paint. The figures of these
foreigners are very important, as showing what kind of
civilisation was already spread in the countries between
Egypt and Mesopotamia. The royal scribe, Nefer-
hotep, who introduces the party, bears a tablet on
which is written, **Year six, under the majesty of
Horus, the guide of the two lands, the king of Upper
and Lower Egypt, Kha'kheper'ra, the number of Aamu
brought by the son of the noble Khnem'hotep, on
account of the kohl^ Aamu of Shu, number amounting
to 37" (N. Bh. xxxviii.). Khety, the overseer of the
huntsmen, follows the scribe, and behind him come the
foreigners. First is the chief, leading a tame ibex
(Fig. 102) ; his title and name is before him, heq setu
Absha (N. Bh. xxviii.). We have already seen how
important a heq setu was, in considering Khyan in the
Vlllth or IXth dynasty, who occupied part of the
Delta and adopted the dignity of an Egyptian king.
Here again the rich clothing of these people shows
that they were not mere wandering Bedawin, clad in
skins ; on the contrary, their gaily patterned garments
remind us of the rugs of Persia in the design. They
cannot have attained the means and the taste for such
ornament in a savage and wandering life ; and we may
safely infer that they belong to a region less sterile
than the bare desert of the Red Sea. Rather may we
connect them with Northern Arabia, the region which
the power and monuments of Khyan lead us to regard
as the home of the heq sefUy or prince of the hill
c •«i4->«<ii.l
USERTESEN II
»73
country. The chiefs face is obviously Semitic, being
closely like that of the Bedawin of the present day ; the
narrow line of beard down the jaw, rising toward the
corner of the mouth and then sloping away to the chin,
the long- aquiline nose, and the general expression, are
all familiar in the Arab face. The same Semitic origin
is pointed out by the name Absha, which is equal
to the Hebrew Abishai, "the father of a present";
and it IS likely that this was not his real name.
nl.).
but rather a name given him by his people in con-
sequence of his coming to Egypt with a present
or tribute to the Egyptians ; just as Arabs would now
name a man who brought presents as "the father of
presents."
After the chief comes a follower leading a gazelle;
then four armed men with bow, boomerangs, and
spears ; two children on an ass laden with rugs ; a boy
174 KHAKHEPER-RA Cdyn. xim.
with a spear ; four women gaily dressed in coloured
garments, patterned with stripes, chequers, and frets ;
another ass laden with baggage, a spear, and a shield;
a man with a water-skin on his back, playing on a lyre ;
and lastly, a bowman with a boomerang (N. Bh. xxxi.).
Here is no sign of inferior civilisation. The clothing is
quite as much as the Egyptians used, the decoration of
it is more profuse than on the Egyptian dress, the arms
are the same as in Egypt, the bow and boomerang, and
the spear is not common so early in Egypt ; the sandals
are as good as the Egyptian pattern, and the women
have socks. Though a different civilisation, it is no
way inferior to the Egyptian in the arts of life which
were needful to such a people. These were the Aamu
with whom the Egyptians warred with such large
armies under Pepy I.; and who appear to have invaded
Egypt and held the country in the time of the IXth-
Xth dynasty.
At Qoser one of the steles is dated under Usertesen
II. (A.Z. XX. 204). At Hieraconpolis a statue of this
king in black granite has been found, now in the
Ghizeh Museum (Rec. x. 139). And at Aswan is a fine
stele of a local noble, Mentuhotep, dated in this reign
(L.D. ii. 123 d). The tomb of Sarenput at Aswan,
and his statue of black granite (B. Mus.), also belong
to this reign, as his father was called after Amenemhat
II. (Rec. X. 189).
In Berlin is a statue dedicated by an official, Ser
(W.G. 250) ; and in the Louvre a carnelian statuette is
said to exist, but is not in the catalogue. It is probably
a false reference for the stolen statuette of Usertesen I.
(see De Roug^, Notice des Monuments, 16).
Of scarabs and cylinders there are several of this
reign ; ten having been found in his pyramid-town of
Kahun alone.
His queen was named Nefert, as we learn from her
grey granite statue at Tanis (Fig. 103) (G. Mus.; P.T.
II. xi. 171). She is represented seated on a throne,
with her wig brought down in two masses to the
I.C. «w,-=6tel USERTESEN II 175
breasts, where each ends in a spiral curl. On the
bosom is a pectoral, on which is the king's name be-
tween two vultures on the nub sign. On the throne are
the titles, ' ' The hereditary princess, the great favourite,
the greatly praised, the beloved consort of the king, the
ruler of all women, the king's daughter of his body,
Nefcrt." The title ruler, or princess, of all women is
Fig. 103. -Queen Nefeil,
peculiar, and suggests that the queen had some pre-
rogatives of government as regards the female half of
the population.
The small pyramid at Illahun seems to have been
for a princess named Atmu . . . ; and, as many names
in this age are compounded of the names of deities
and ne/eru, so this may well have been Atmu'neferu,
" the beauties of Atmu" or Turn. For the other two
daughters see the next reign.
rv
KHA KAU-RA
[dyn. xif. 5.
XII. 5. Kha-kau'ra
c
o
USERTESEN III.
a
uuu]
about
2660-
2622
B.C.
Pyramid, Dahshur, N. brick.
Tanis
Architrave (
Nebesheh
Statue (
Khataaneh
Jambs (-
Mokdam
Statues (
Bubastis
Architraves (
Abydos
Statue (
Hammamat
Inscription (
Gebelen
Base of statue (<
Aswan
Inscriptions (
Elephantine
Tablet (
Sehel
Inscriptions J >
Bigeh
Statue (
Semneh
Fort and temple (
Kummeh
(
Scarabs and
Cylinders
Queens — Henut'taui
Merseker ?
(P.T. I. ii. 7).
(P.N. ix. 2).
(A.Z. xxiii. 12).
(N.A. iv. xii.).
(N.B. xxxiii).
(M.A. 346).
(L.D. ii. 136 a).
(G. Mus).
(L.D. ii. 1360),
(A.Z. xiii. 50).
(L.D. ii. 136 W.
(Rec. xiii. 202}.
(L.L. 120).
(L.D.I. 111-112).
(L.D.I. 111-112).
Dahshur
(L.D. iii. 55 a).
Fig. X04.— Scarab
(P. Mus.).
The pyramid of this king is apparently the north
brick pyramid of Dahshur, from the remains discovered
around it by M. de Morgan in 1894. The arrangement
is unlike that hitherto known at any pyramid. In place
of the well descending on the south side as at the tomb
of Usertesen II., there are wells just inside the corners
of the peribolus wall on the N.W. and N.E.; and prob-
ably also at the other corners. These wells are con-
nected with long galleries parallel to the peribolus ;
and chambers containing sarcophagi open from these
galleries. Three named interments are already known.
A queen, ** khnum w^r^^jsr/ Henut'taui," inscribed on
a sandstone sarcophagus ; this is probably the queen
of Usertesen III., as she is queen consort at her
death, and is not called royal mother. A princess,
** king's daughter Sent's'senb," inscribed on a lime-
u-c. i5&.-=Si..J USERTESEN III 177
Stone sarcopha|fus, probably a daughter of Usertesen
II., and sister of Usertesen III., judging by the next
example. And a princess, Safhathor, whose jewellery
was found in a casket overlooked by the ancient
plunderers. Her pectoral bears the name of Usertesen
II., while a scarab has the name of Usertesen III.;
hence she was probably daughter of the former and
sister of the latter, who buried her in his pyramid
mausoleum. This jewellery is a treasure only paralleled
by that of Aah'hotep. A pectoral of gold is richly in-
laid with minute work in carnelian and light and dark
blue stone or paste; the design is like that of the
pectoral on the breast of Nefert, her father's queen {see
the Tanis statues in the Ghizeh Museum), the cartouche
of Usertesen IL, surmounted by neb velertt, and sup-
ported on either side by a hawk on nub, with the sun
and uraeus behind. Bracelets, necklaces of gold
, pendants of lions and lions' claws in gold, and
1 78 KH A-KAU -R A [imr. m 5.
!
strings of beads in gold, amethyst, and emerald, make
up this splendid equipment of a princess.
Having the north brick pyramid of Dahshur thus
fixed to LFsertesen III., it is possible that the two stone
pyramids there belong to Amenemhat I. and Usertesen
I.; as the Lahun pyramid is of Usertesen 11., and the
Hawara pyramid of Amenemhat III., the burials of the
dynasty would be thus nearly accounted for.
The name of this king in the Greek lists, Lakheres,
is quite accounted for by the corruption of X into A,
by omission of the top ; thus altering Kha'kau'ra, or
Khakeres, into Lakheres.
In the Delta, Usertesen seems to have been very
active as a builder. At Tanis an architrave of red
granite bears his name (P.T. I. ii. 7) ; at Nebesheh stood
statues in yellow quartzite, one of the thrones of which
is preserved (B. Mus. ; P.N. ix. 2) ; at Khataaneh are
the jambs of red granite, lying by the lintel of Amen-
emhat I. (A.Z. xxiii. 12) ; at Tell Mokdam are the bases
of two statues (N.A. 29, iv. xii.) ; at Bubastis he
appears to have rebuilt the temple, there being several
blocks and architraves bearing his name, and a portion
of a long inscription about a war against the negroes,
probably also of this time (N.B. 10, xxxiii. xxxiv.).
Memphis appears to have been passed over in this
reign. At Abydos is a red granite statue in the temple
(M.A. 346).
At Hammamat we meet an inscription which shows
that Herakleopolis, now Ahnas, was adorned by him :
** In the fourteenth year, the eighteenth of Khoiak, in the
reign of Kha'kau'ra, loving the god Min of Koptos, .
behold his majesty ordered the going to Rohanu to 1
bring the monuments which his majesty ordered him to
make for Hershef, lord of Herakleopolis (even the living
chief Kha'kau'ra ever living !), in good Bekhnu stone.
He sent me as overseer of works on account of my
excellence, a true commander, known to his lord. He
overthrew the foreigners and the Troglodytes, and
brought excellent tribute of the Tehenu (Libyans) ; he
who says what is good and reports what is desired,
\
B.C. a66o-2622.l USERTESEN III 179
Khuy, son of Hepy." The construction of this inscrip-
tion is rather confused.
At Gebelen the base of a statuette of this king was
found (G. Mus.). Thebes appears to have been passed
by, and all the energies of the reign were concentrated
on the complete subjugation of Nubia. At Aswan are
inscriptions of the sixth year (a tablet of Aay, P.S. 262)
and of the twelfth year (P.S. 340). At Elephantine was
a tablet recording some constructions in the eighth year
of this reign (B. Mus. ; A.Z. xiii. 50).
On the island of Sehel, by the cataract, is a tablet
representing the goddess Anqet giving life to Usertesen,
and stating that he made monuments to her, and also the
canal, ** most excellent of ways of Usertesen." Another
tablet of great interest represents there the goddess Sati
giving life to Usertesen, and states that * * in the eighth
year, under the majesty of Kha*kau*ra, living for ever,
ordered his majesty to be made a canal anew ; the name
of this canal is the * most excellent of ways of Kha'kau Ta
ever living. ' Then his majesty sailed southward to crush
Ethiopia the vile. Length of this canal, 150 cubits ;
breadth, 20 cubits ; depth, 14 cubits." This canal was
used again by Tahutmes I., and was cleared and re-
opened by Tahutmes III., who gave the standing order,
** The fishers of Elephantine shall cut this canal every
year" (Rec. xiii. 202).
No modern canal has been attempted in this place ;
and instead of a canal 34 feet wide and 24 feet deep, up
which any Nile boat could pass, we have resorted to a
railway with a shift of cargo at each end of it.
This canal was a part of the great preparations for
the conquest of Nubia, and Usertesen left his statue on
the isle of Bigeh, above the cataract, in honour of the
gods of the region (L.L. 120). Pressing on, he defeated
the negroes in different campaigns, of which we have
records of the eighth, sixteenth, and the nineteenth
years. On a tablet set up at Semneh (Fig. 106), we
have a characteristic inscription, showing much both of
the king and the people. ** In the sixteenth year, the
month Phamenoth, made his majesty the southern
KHAKAURA
Tdt
iHnindary unto Heh. I (the king) made my boundary
south of my fiitlicr's ; I did more than was committed
1(1 mo l)_v thi:m ; I the king both say and did it. It nas
till- device of my huart, which was done by me; eager
to capture, powerful to succeed, and not slothful ; one
in whose heart tliere is a word which cravens know not.
liivinsi' no satisfaction to the enemy which invades him ;
but invadiuij thii invader, and leaving alone the man
who lets him alone. Answering a word according to its
result ; for a man who remains silent after an attack,
encourages the heart of the enemy. Eagerness is
valiant, and base is the coward who is driven back. It
is truly a coward who is oppressed upon his own
boundary ; for the negro obeys as soon as the lips are
opened ; an answer makes him draw back ; he turns his
back to the impetuou.s. They are not valiant men, they
are miserable, both tails and bodies (a joke at the hide
girdles and tails, which always amused the Egyptians) ;
my majesty saw it myself ; it is no fable. I captured
their wives, led away their peoples ; I went out to their
wells (in the desert valleys}, and smote their cattle, and
destroyed their corn, and set fire to it. By my life and
my father's life, what I say is in truth.
B.C. 2660-2622.] USERTESEN III 181
* * And every son of mine who confirms this boundary
which my majesty has made, he is my son, he is born of
my majesty, a son who avenges his father (like Horus),
vv^ho confirms the boundary of him who begat him. But
he who destroys it, even who fights not for it, he is
not my son, he is not one born to me. Moreover, my
majesty caused a statue of my majesty to be made upon
this boundary, which my majesty made from the desire
that ye should fight for it." *
These conquests in Nubia were permanently secured
by thus pushing back the frontier of Egypt to above the
Second Cataract, and building on the hills of Semneh and
Kummeh two forts commanding the river, about thirty
miles above the cataract. The fort of Semneh is on the
west bank, bordering on the river, and on an almost
inaccessible height of platform, artificially raised, and
containing a temple. That of Kummeh, on the east
bank, is on a natural height, which is very strong, and
also contains a temple (L.D. i. 111-112 ; Ms. A. 29, 30).
A decree for the frontier guards was placed at Semneh :
* * This is the southern frontier ; fixed in the eighth year
of the reign of his majesty Kha*kau*ra, ever living.
Let it not be permitted to any negro to pass this boun-
dary northward, either on foot or by boat ; nor any sort
of cattle, oxen, goats, or sheep belonging to the negroes.
Except when any negro comes to trade in the land of
Aken, or on any business, let him be well treated. But
without allowing any boat of the negroes to pass Heh
northward for ever " (L.D. ii. 136 i).
In after ages this king was revered as the founder of
Ethiopia, and the later kings of the XVIIIth dynasty
specially adored him in their temples at Semneh, Kum-
meh, Dosheh, Shatawi, Ellesieh, and Amada.
Some private inscriptions of this reign also remain at
Semneh and Kummeh (L.D. ii. 136 d-g).
A curious illustration of the worship of the kings is
preserved in a long hymn to Usertesen III. on a papyrus
found at Kahun. After an opening adulation of titles
comes the poetical part of the hymn of praise, stanza
1 82 KH A'KAU *RA [dyn. xu. 5.
after stanza of ten lines, the most perfect example of
Egyptian poetry that we know
I.
1 Twice joyful are the gods,
thou hast established their offering's.
2 Twice joyful are thy princes,
thou hast formed their boundaries.
3 Twice joyful are thy ancestors before thee,
thou h<ast increased their portions.
4 Twice joyful is Egypt at thy strong arm,
thou hast guarded the ancient order,
5 Twice joyful are the aged with thy administration,
thou hast widened their possessions.
6 Twice joyful are the two regions with thy valour,
thou hast caused them to flourish.
7 Twice joyful are thy young men of support,
thou hast caused them to flourish.
8 Twice joyful are thy veterans,
thou hast caused them to be vigorous.
9 Twice joyful are the two lands in thy might,
thou hast guarded their walls.
10 Twice joyful be thou, O Horns ! widening thy boundary,
mayest thou renew an eternity of life.
II.
1 Twice great are the owners of his city,
for he is a multitude and an host.
2 Twice great are the owners of his city,
for he is a flood-gate pouring forth streams of its water-
3 Twice great are the owners of his city, [floods.
for he is a bower, letting every man lie down in the mid-
4 Twice great are the owners of his city, [day heat.
for he is a screen like walls built of the sharp stones of
5 Twice great are the owners of his city, [Kesem.
for he is a refuge, shutting out the robber.
6 Twice great are the owners of his city,
for he is an asylum, shielding the timid from his enemy.
7 Twice great are the owners of his city,
for he is a shade in the high Nile to provide coolness in the
8 Twice great are the owners of his city, [summer.
for he is a warm comer of shelter in the winter.
9 Twice great are the owners of his city,
for he is a rock shielding from the blast in the stormy day.
10 Twice great are the owners of his city, [his boundary.
for he is as the goddess Sekhet to the foes who tread on
B.C. 2660-2622.] USERTESEN III 183
III.
1 He has come to us, he has taken the land of the well,
the double crown is placed on his head.
2 He has come, he has united the two lands,
he has joined the kingdom of the upper land with the
3 He has come, he has ruled Egypt, [lower.
he has placed the desert in his power.
4 He has come, he has protected the two lands,
he has given peace in the two regions.
5 He has come, he has made Egypt to live,
he has destroyed its afflictions.
6 He has come, he has made the aged to live,
he has opened the breath of the people.
7 He has come, he has trampled on the nations,
he has smitten the Anu, who knew not his terror,
8 He has come, he has protected (?) his frontier,
he has rescued the robbed.
9 He has come
of what his mighty arm brings to us.
10 He has come, we bring up our children,
we bury our aged by his good favour.
The remaining stanzas are incomplete, but we can
see through this a real national fervour of delight at the
repression of the negro tribes, and the establishment of
security and safety in the country.
There are many scarabs and cylinders of this
reign in various collections ; mostly of rather rude
work.
The queen in the Dahshur mausoleum is named
Henut'taui, and there is a probability that a queen of
Usertesen was named Merseker, as she is adored by
Tahutmes III. at Semneh in the same inscription with
this king (L.t>. iii. 55 a) ; but no other trace of her
has been found.
I&l
Xn. 6. Maat-en'ra
MAATEN-RA
[dtx. xn. 4
AmEN'EM'HAT Ill.f (J TO^. "'"'^ J
Pyramid and temple, Ha\^'ar'i (P.K. li.-v.).
about
2622-
2578
B.C.
Sarbut c\ Kliadcni
Wady Maphara
Turrali
Hawara
Crocodilopolis
Hiahmu
Hanimaiii<'it
Koptos
Hicracon polls
El Kab
Aswan
Shrine, etc.
Inscriptions
Stele
Pyramid
Pylon
Colossi
Inscriptions
Vulture
Statuette
Stele
Inscriptions
(L.L. ^01).
(L.D. li. 137).
(L.D. ii. 143 i.).
(P.K. ii.-v.)L
(P.H. xxvii.).
(P.H. xxvi--vii.).
(L.D. ii. 138).
Fig. 107.—
Scarabi
Kuban
Kummeh
Semneh
Statue
Statue
Sphinx
Inscription
Inscriptions
Nile levels
Berlin
(Rec. X. 139).
(W.G. 255).
(P.S. 84,98,151-3-4).
(M.I. i. 14, 15, 27).
(L.D. ii. 138 g\
(L.D. ii. 139%
(L.D. ii. 139'.
(W.G. 260).
St. Petersburg^ (Rec. xv. 136; i.-iv.).
Miramar Mus. (Cat. xxix.).
Hawk (F.P. Coll.), scarabs, cyhnders, etc.
Papyri (Kahun Papyri xiv.).
Daughters — Ptahneferu (P.K.V.; Rec. x. 142).
Sebekneferu, queen later on.
The pyramid of Amenemhat was placed by him at
the entrance to the Fayum province, which he so
largely organised ; from the top of it almost ever}*
part of the Oasis can be seen, out to the line of hills
which bound its western border. It is also within
sight of the cliffs on the eastern side of the Nile ; and
it thus links together the valley on which all the other
pyramids look down, with this western Oasis which was
the special care of this king (Fig. 108).
In construction this pyramid differs from all others
known, but is more like that of Usertesen II. than any
nth
sliding
B.i»«-.srt.| AMENEMHAT III r8s
other. The mass of it is entirely of brick, which was
coated with fine hmestone, like the other pyramids
, The passages lead-
ing to the central
chamber are
peculiarly complex,
and laboriously
planned to defeat
plunderers (Fig.
109). A new system
was elaborated
here, of dumb
chambe
gigantic
trap-doors in the
roofe leading to
further passages.
The explorer who
had found the en-
trance, in the un-
usual place on the
south side, de-
scended alongstaircase,wh:chendedinadumbchamber.
The roof of this, if slid aside, showed another passage,
which was filled with blocks. This was a mere blind, to
divert attention from the real passage, which stood
ostentatiously open. A plunderer has, however, fruit-
lessly mined his way through all these blocks. On
going down the real passage, another dumb chamber
was reached ; another sliding trap-door was passed ;
another passage led to a third dumb chamber ; a third
trap-door was passed ; and now a passage led along
past one side of the real sepulchre ; and to amuse
explorers, two false wells open in the passage floor, and
the wrong side of the passage is filled with masonry
blocks fitted in. Yet by some means the plunderers
found a cross trench in the passage floor, which led to
the chamber. Here another device was met. The
chamber had no door, but was entered solely by one
of the immense roof-blocks — weighing 45 tons— being
MAAT-ENRA
[DVH. XII. «.
left raised, and afterwards dropped into place on
dosing the pyramid. This had been mined through,
and thus the royal
interments were
reached. They had
been entirely burnt ;
and only fired grains
ofdiorite and pieces
of lazuli inlaying
s h owe d th e splendour
of the decorations
of the coffins.
The sepulchral
chamber is one of
the most remarkable
works in Egypt. It
is hollowed out in
one block of glass-
hard yellow quartz-
ite, cut and polished
with exquisite truth.
It is over 22 feet
long by about 8 feet
wide inside, and
over 2 feet thick,
so that it must
weigh about no
tons. The roof of it :s formed of three blocks of the
same material, one of 45 tons, by which entrance was
obtained, another larger, and a third smaller. All of
this was built into a pit in the rock ; a limestone sloping
roof was placed over it, the beams of which are 7 feet
thick ; over that a brick arch was thrown, and the brick
pyramid was built on it.
Inside the chamber is the sarcophagus of Amenemhat ;
flat around the sides, but with a projecting foot orna-
mented with panel pattern, and a curved lid. Sub-
sequently a second coffin has been formed by building
blficks between the royal coffin and the wall, and a
second lid was put over the space, for covering a
B.C. 26^2 2578.] AMENEMHAT III 187
second burial. Behind these two coffins stood two
boxes of the same design, doubtless to hold the
sepulchral vases, like the square box in the floor of
Pepy's chamber. All of these objects were made of
quartzite, some of it white and translucent ; and there
is no trace of inscription on this furniture, on the
chamber, nor in any part of the pyramid. Below the
water, which now half fills the chamber, were found
pieces of the alabaster vases with the name of the king
Maat*en*ra. And in the last of the passages was an
alabaster altar and broken pieces of dishes, in the form
of a half duck (all in G. Mus.), inscribed for the ** king's
daughter Ptahneferu," who was doubless buried in the
added sarcophagus space by the side of the king.
This altar is peculiar for having figures of a great
number of offerings, eighty-six of which bear names
(P.K. 12-17, ii.-v.) (Fig. no).
Adjoining the pyramid on the south side stood an
immense building ; part of which, at least, was the
temple of Amenemhat. Some of the construction was
due to his daughter Sebekneferu, who afterwards came
to the throne (P.H. 6, xxvii. 12). This was the build-
ing so celebrated in classical times as the Labyrinth.
The site of that has been much disputed ; but Strabo
states that it was on the canal between the Nile and
Arsinoe ; and by a papyrus found at Gurob, of Ptolemaic
age, we know now that boats on the canal leading to
Ptolemais in the Fayum, passed by the Labyrinth ;
every part of that canal has now been examined, with-
out finding any trace of an early building except this
great site.
All of the constructions have been removed for stone,
and there is no trace of the extent of the building
except the concrete or beto7t beds of the foundations,
and the immense masses of chips over them, which
have resulted from the destruction of the building by
the quarriers of Roman age. The brick houses,
mistaken by Lepsius for the Labyrinth, formed the
village of the Roman age, built on the top of the
fragments of the temple. The whole area of the build-
(88 MAATEN-RA |ov,>.. i.i. 6.
ing is about looo feet long and 800 feet broad, or
enough to include all the temples of Karnak and of
Luxor. From the scanty Indications of the levels of the
ground, and the fragmentary accounts of ancient
authors, it appears as if the Labyrinth were a peristyle
temple, with a central passage, and two great cross-
M. rf.,.5781 AMENEMHAT III 1B9
ways : the first crossway with courts or small temples
opening on each side of it ; the second crossway being
a hall with a long row of columns, and with courts
opening on the farther side of it, much like the temple
of Abydos (P.H. 4-8, xxv.). It has been supposed
from the tales of (lerodotos that the kings of the
XXVIth dynasty had built here, either as restoring
or adding to the older temples ; but there seems to be
no trace of works of that date to be found here.
Amenemhat continued to be honoured at Hawara until
Ptolemaic times, as persons were named after him
(P.H. V. 4. iiV
■Two (ablets of Anicnemhal ill., Wady Maghnr^.
We pass now to the geographical order of the monu-
ments. In the Sinaitic peninsula Amenemhat developed
his power. At the mines of Sarbut el Khadem he ex-
cavated a small rock temple, and placed steles outside
of it (L.L. 301; L.D. ii. 137; C.N. ii. 691). In the
Wady Maghara are also several inscriptions, in various
years from the beginning to the end of this reign ; one
records an expedition with 734 soldiers, to work the
mines of copper and malachite (L.D. ii. 137 c-i)
(Fir. ■")•
■go MAAT-EN-RA (d™, m. 1.
The quarries of Turrah by Cairo have a fine stele of
the king (L.D. ii. 143 i), showing that he obtained
stone from there, probably for the Labyrinth. No
such good stone could be had elsewhere in Egypt, as
we learn by Una bringing from thence the best blocks
for his tomb, against the Nile stream all the way up to
Abydos.
The Fayum province was the great monument of
Amenemhat III. The deep hollow in the desert,
descending over 120 teet below the sea level, was
perhaps first produced by the upheavals and dis-
locations of the strata which caused the great fault of
the Nile valley. But it is tolerably certain that from the
earliest human period the Fayum was filled with water
by the Nile, as there is a channel into it level with the
Nile valley. This inflow of mud-bearing water had
deposited beds of earth over the higher levels, ^vhe^e
the Nile water first spread out into the lake. Of this
B.C. 26a2-3578.] AMENEMHAT III 191
high level period many remains are seen, pebble
beaches high on the dry side of the basin, and a quay
of the town of Dimey on the western side, constructed
in Greek times, but now dry far above the lake.
There cannot be any question, therefore, as to this
condition of things having existed (Fig. 112). The
keeper of the Lake of the Crocodile or Ta'she is
mentioned from the earliest times.
The first stage of interference with nature here seems
to have been under Amenemhat I., as the earlier
mentions of a town or district probably refer to the
shores of the lake. His statue at Crocodilopolis
(Medinet) shows that he had reclaimed a considerable
surface from the lake ; and a fragment of a gigantic
thick dyke of earth, just beyond the ancient temple,
may well be a part of his first dam, enclosing the
higher part of the lake bed, and so bringing it into
use for cultivation, or may even belong to some still
earlier reclamation. This enclosure must have ex-
tended as far as Begig, three or four miles south-west
of the temple, in the time of Usertesen I., whose
obelisk lies there. Then under Amenemhat III. came
the great extension of this damming-out system ; and
by means of a vast embankment, some twenty miles in
length, an almost level area of about forty square miles,
or over 20,000 acres, was secured from the lake, and
became one of the most fertile provinces of the country.
On the prominent northern corner of this great work
(now known as Biahmu) were placed two massive
platforpis of stone walling, filled in with earth, from
which arose two seated colossi of the king. These
were monoliths about thirty-nine feet high, placed
upon pedestals. Carved in the glassy quartzite, and
polished brilliantly, they glittered as landmarks seen
across the lake (P.H. 53-56, xxvi.). These were
doubtless the statues on pyramids seen by Herodotos. ^
The fragments of the statues, etc., are now in the
Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The great work of
Amenemhat was not only the reclaiming of all this
land, but also the regulation of the flow of the Nile
192 MAAT'EN'RA Idyn. xii. 6.
in and out of the lake. Down to the time of Herodotos
this annual flow continued, and the lake served to hold
part of the surplus of the high Nile, and to let that
flow out again during the low Nile. Two causes,
however, led to the abandonment of this system : first,
the Nile always deposits more earth near its main bed
than elsewhere, consequently the bed rises faster than
the western side of the Nile plain, and hence there is
now a difference of several feet across the Nile valley.
So soon as this became considerable, it would be im-
practicable to get the water out of the Fayum again
into the raised Nile bed. Secondly, the land was much
needed for a new settlement of the Macedonian soldiers
of Ptolemy Soter. Hence the inflow of the Nile was
checked down to the amount actually required by the
province, and the lake was gradually dried up under
the earlier Ptolemies. Colonies of soldiers and their
families were settled on the newly - reclaimed land,
towns and temples sprang up as the lake receded, and
it has been reduced to a low, though fluctuating, level
ever since (P.H. 2). Amenemhat III. also rearranged
the temple which his ancestor had built at Croco-
dilopolis ; the red granite blocks of the pylon bear his
name, though they have been re-used by later re-
storers (P.H. 57, xxvii.). The ancient name of the
town, Shed^ means the rescued or extracted, and thus
refers to the extraction or saving of the land from
the lake. The former theory of Linant, that the Lake
Moeris was on the high plateau, was founded on a
misconception of the levels, and of the physical features
of the country, and needs no further consideration.
As the remains within the dam — or in Linant's lake —
are of the Xllth dynasty, and the remains outside of
the dam are all Greco-Roman, it is obvious that the
inside must have been dry land, while the outside was
the lake, until late times.
The celebrated Lake Moeris was then the natural
basin of the Fayum oasis, regulated and utilised by
Amenemhat IIL The extent of the basin up to Nile
level was such that its circuit was equal to the coast-
B.C. 2622-2578.] AMENEMHAT III 193
line of Egypt, according to Herodotos, and this was
approximately the case. The supposed extension of it
into other desert valleys to the south-west is impossible
during historical times, as the hills rise above the Nile
level between the two depressions.
In the Wady Hammamat, we find that Amenemhat
sent out an expedition to get stone, in his nineteenth
year, for his buildings in the Fayum (L.D. ii. 138 c, e),
apparently for the temple of Sebek at Crocodilopolis.
The party made a causeway to draw the stones upon,
and brought a statue of five cubits high. In the second
year is a record of the overthrow of the negroes, and
opening up of the road of the Aamu (L.D. ii. 138a).
These expeditions continued to need considerable
forces, as in that of the nineteenth year "multitudes
of soldiers, even two thousand," are mentioned. At
Koptos a colossal vulture in hard limestone was
dedicated by Amenemhat, ** beloved of Sekhet" (now
in G. Mus.).
The great centres of Memphis, Abydos, and Thebes
seem to have been passed over by the king, only a few
private dedications being found there ; and we next
m^et with Amenemhat at Hieraconpolis, where a black
granite figure of his was found (G. Mus.; Rec. x. 139).
On the opposite bank, at El Kab, was a stele in the
forty-fourth year, concerning the building of a wall
(W.G. 25s).
At Aswan are several private tablets dated in this
reign, but none of historical value (P.S. 84, 98, 151, 153,
154). A stele of an official named Usertesen, at Kuban,
opposite Dakkeh in Nubia, belongs also to this date
(L.D. ii. 138 g).
But at Semneh and Kummeh a most interesting
series of inscriptions is found, brief though they are,
recording the height of the Nile. The great water-
works of Amenemhat, for the regulation of the Nile
by the intake and outflow at the Fayum, required an
early notice of the rise and fall of the river ; and official
records were kept of it on the rocks, while probably
I— 13
194 MAAT'EN-RA [dyn. xii. 6.
the news would be sent down by some signals from hill
to hill, till it reached the lower country. These re-
gisters of the high Nile (see L.D. ii. 139) involve a
difficult question, as they are about twenty-five feet
above the present level of the river (L.L. 510). As the
mouth sign beginning the inscription is written, bisected
by the upper line in some cases, it seems as if it were
the actual water level, and not a record placed at some
determinate height, of ten or twenty cubits measured
by a cord above the torrent of the full stream ; other-
wise such an explanation might seem the most feasible,
as it would be easier to mark rocks, and examine old
marks, on some spot well above the water. Such a
possibility needs consideration on the spot. Granting,
however, that these are the actual levels, the only view
seems to be that the Nile has eroded its bed a depth
of twenty-five feet at that point. It has often been
suggested that the breaking through of barriers at
Silsileh, or at Aswan, might affect it ; but as those
places are two or three hundred feet lower level, any
change there would be as imperceptible at Semneh as
a lock on the lower Thames would be at Oxford.
Moreover, the early graffiti and tombs at Silsileh and
Aswan are only fairly above the river at present, and
show that no great change has occurred there in
historical times. The Semneh levels, then, must point
to a lowering of the bed in Upper Nubia, apart from
Lower Nubia and Egypt ; and this might occur by two
causes, either by the erosion of the bed, or else by a
slight elevation of the southern end of Nubia, thus
making the water pour faster out of its channel, and
so lie at a lower level. The gradient of the water in
Nubia does not appear to exceed thirty seconds of
angle, and hence a minute angular tilt of the country
might flood up the upper valley, or let the water run
faster out of it. Until a critical examination is
thoroughly made of all the remains — especially trifling
graffiti along the banks — in Upper Nubia, this vexed
question must remain in abeyance (see on this L.L.
507-532).
B.C. 26a2-3578 ] AMENEMHAT III
Of other remains of Amenemhat, there is a fine
statue usurped by Merenptah, possibly from Tanis,
like other such usurpations, now in Berlin (W.G. 260);
and also another statue at St. Petersburg (Rec. xv.
136, i.-iv.) ; a headless sphinx of the Miramar col-
lection (Cat. xxix.) ; a small hawk inscribed on the
base(F.P» Coll.); and many scarabs, cylinders, etc.
One is a document of interest, giving the list of the
six kings of the dynasty down to this point, in their
proper order (Brocklehurst Coll.). A statue of an
official of this king was in the Sabatier Coll. (Rec.
xiv. 55)-
Of the close ot this reign the highest date is the
stele at El Kab of the forty-fourth year. But a papyrus
from Kahun is dated in a forty-sixth year, which can
hardly be that of any king but Amenemhat III., and
hence it is likely that his reign extended so far. As to
whether he associated Amenemhat IV. in coregency
with him we cannot be certain. Such was the principle
of this dynasty, especially in long reigns like this ; yet
there is no certain evidence at this point. Some monu-
ments give the two cartouches side by side as equally
adored, but there is no proof that either king was alive
at the time, nor that both were alive (L.D. ii. 140m;
L.A. X.). On the whole, it is not improbable that
Amenemhat IV. was associated for two or three years,
but no double dating of this kind is yet known.
Of the family of Amenemhat, one daughter, Ptah*
neferu, appears to have died before her father, having
been buried in his pyramid. Her alabaster altar and
dishes remain (G. Mus. ; P.K. v.); and a block of
black granite with her name and titles (Rec. x. 142).
The other daughter, Sebek 'neferu, succeeded her
brother, Amenemhat IV., on the throne.
196 AMENEMHAT IV [dvn. xii. 7.
XII. 7. Maa-kheru'ra I O "^ I ^ j 257^
2569
B.C.
AMENEMHAT IV. ( (] ^^^^^ |\ o^^
Sarbut el Khadem Tablets (L.D. ii. 1400, p).
Wady Maghara Tablet (L.D. ii. 14011).
Kahun Papyrus (G.K. xxxiii.).
Shut er regal Tablet (P.S, 444).
Kummeh Tablet (L.D. ii. 152 f).
Paws of a sphinx, quartzite (G. Mus.).
Plaque (B. Mus.). Fig. 113.— Scarab
Scarabs (B. Mus., Louvre, P.P. Coll.). (P. Mus.).
This reign shows the declension of the dynasty.
The monuments are scanty and unimportant ; they all
fall, however, in the fifth and sixth year, which gives
some reason to suppose a coregency in the earlier part
of the nine years' reign.
At Sarbut el Khadem the ka name and the throne
name occur in isolated fragments without longer in-
scription (L.D. ii. 1400, p); while at Wady Maghara
a short inscription is dated in the sixth year (140 n).
The paws of a sphinx in yellow quartzite also bear
his name (G. Mus.). The name does not appear at
all at Hawara, which is rather strange, as that of
Sebekneferu occurs sometimes in the temple. At Shut
er Regal is a cartouche that may be of Amenemhat
IV. (P.S. 444). At Kummeh a brief tablet of the
fifth year records the rise of the Nile (L.D. ii. i52f).
One papyrus of Kahun is dated in the sixth year of
the reign (G.K. xxxiii.). A plaque of green glazed
schist (in the B. Mus.) bears the names of Amenemhat
IV., with a cartouche Ameny ; this may possibly be
an associated prince, though scarcely the Ameny Ra*
sankh'ab, the sixth of the next dynasty. Only four
scarabs are known, one in B. Mus., one in F.P. Coll.,
and two in the Louvre.
SEBEK'NEFERU
XII. 8. Sebbk-nbperu [
TIDIr
Khataaneh Sphinx (N. G. 9 c).
Hawara Temple (L.D. ii. 140, F.P, Coll.).
Cylinder (B. Miis.) ; Scarab (G. Coll.).
(G. Coll.).
Of this queen, stated by Manetho to have been the
sister of Amenemhat IV., we have very slight remains.
A sphinx of grey granular siliceous rock at Khataaneh
has an effaced cartouche between the paws, which may
be that of this queen ; but the ka name is entirely gone,
and the cartouche only shows traces of a Ra, a square
sign (pedestal of the crocodile ?), and three vertical
lines. As no other cartouche agrees to this, it may be
left to the credit of this queen.
At Hawara her i:z=^=:^i:^zi:i^=^Z^=^
name occurs as often -— /^ <
as that of her fether ;
as, beside the ex-
amples of Lepsius
(L.D. ii. 140), a
column (P.H. xxvii.
12) and a block (P.K.
xi. i) naminif her
have also been found
there. How it is that
she is associated with
this temple, to the ex- ^^
clusionofherbrother, ym. 115. -Cylinder, I
is not clear ; but the
remains are so scanty that little
about it.
f^'^y^^\
white (R.Mus.).
be argued
198 SEBEK-NEFERU Idvh. xn. t
The finest small piece of the later part of the dynasty
is, however, of this queen, a beautiful cylinder (Fig*. 115)
of white schist glazed blue, of unusual size, and
bearing all her titles: ^^ Hor Ra'tnert; double diadem
Akhet kherp neht taut; Hor nub Dad'kha; Suten bat
(Sebek'shedti'neferu) ankh tha; Sebek shedti tnery^^
(B. Mus.).
A scarab of hers is also known (G. Coll.),
Before parting from the Xllth dynasty, one remark-
able point should be noticed. The reigns are all long,
and yet it is generally assumed that the kings were
each sons of their predecessors. Though the time of
life of association as coregent may have been very
uncertain, yet on a series thi^ vagueness is so sut^-
divided that it does not much affect the question.
Setting aside Amenemhat I., who fought his way to
the throne probably late in life, the reigns of the other
kings, from being coregent, to adopting a successor
as coregent, are 42, 32, 26, 38 (?), 44 years ; the
average of the three certain ones at first is 33 years, or,
including all of them, 36 years. Now, it is wholly
unlikely that each of these kings had no son until they
were so advanced in life. Either, then, their successors
were not eldest sons, but only sons who were selected
by the king as being most able, or sons of heiress-
princesses ; or else there have been several generations
passed over, and grandsons were more usual as suc-
cessors than direct sons. To reduce the average of
36 to the more likely average of 20 years, there must
have been four grandsons adopted as coregents, pass-
ing over the direct sons. One clue to this peculiarity
may lie in the female succession. There is some
ground for supposing that the throne, like any other
property, descended in the female line ; and that the
custom of brother and sister marriages arose from
the desire that sons should inherit. If so, it is quite
possible that the sons had no claim to the throne
legally ; but that the king had it in his choice to
select the most suitable son or grandson, and by
B.C. a569-»565.3 TWELFTH DYNASTY 199
marrying him to a particular princess in the line, he
thus created him the heir to the throne.
This great period of the Xllth dynasty is marked by
somewhat the same characteristics as the first age of
Egyptian development. It begins with a firm organ-
isation of the country, and a solidity and brilliancy of
work that shows great and able guidance ; that is
succeeded by a time of tranquil internal prosperity,
under the second Amenemhat and Usertesen, as before
under the Vth dynasty ; and then comes the tide of
foreign conquest under Usertesen III. as under Pepy I.
A long and splendid reign of Amenemhat III. leads
to a brief time of decay ; much as the long reign of
Pepy II. led to the disorganisation of the Vlth dynasty.
And in each case an age of short reigns, confusion,
and weakness succeeds this outburst of ability. It is
singular how parallel the two cycles of development
run, one with another ; but such seems to be much
the course of government in its growth and fall in
all ages ; and growth, prosperity, foreign wars, glory,
and decay succeed each other as the seasons of the
great year of human organisation.
The work of this dynasty is among the finest. It
could never profess the vitality of the early times, yet
it showed a technical perfection and care which is
perhaps unsurpassed. The sculptures of Amenemhat I.
and Usertesen I. from Koptos, the sarcophagus of
Usertesen II., and the tomb chamber of Amenemhat
III., are as perfect in workmanship as anything
wrought by man. It is much to be hoped that
further exploration may reveal to us more of this
brilliant age, and that the pyramids of other kings
of this dynasty may be discovered.
The private works of this time are fine and sub-
stantial ; though less spontaneous, they are yet
superior to the sculptures of any time since the
I Vth dynasty, and mark the high level of technical
and formal skill which was reached in this age.
200 THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH DYNASTIES
CHAPTER IX
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties
We now reach the second of the two great periods
of obscurity in Egyptian history. The dark age of
the Vllth-XIth dynasties we have filled up to some
extent, thanks to Eratosthenes and the scarabs, be-
sides having the well-known list of a portion of it in
the table of Abydos, and the fragmentary but useful
statements in the Turin papyrus. For the period from
the XII Ith to the XVIIth dynasty the materials are
even less satisfactory. There is the Turin papyrus
beginning in good condition, but becoming more and
more broken, until dozens of names may be placed in
almost any position. There is the wildly irregular list
of Thothmes III. at Karnak. And there are various
excerpts and summaries of Manetho by Josephus,
Africanus, Eusebius, etc. Of monuments there are
only scattered remains, and no contemporary evidence
as to succession.
Two views have been held regarding the only series
of names that is of use — the Turin papyrus. Brugsch
adopts it as a continuous list of successive names, but
Lieblein considers that it is compiled from six alternat-
ing sections of the kings of the XI I Ith and XlVth
dynasties. For this latter hypothesis there does not
seem to be any sufficient ground. There could have
been no reason for alternating the portions of the
dynasties unless they were contemporary ; if contem-
porary, they would be rival lines ; and in the case of
THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH DYNASTIES 201
the IXth and Xth dynasties we see that rival lines are
not reckoned in the Turin papyrus. We shall there-
fore treat the Turin papyrus as a consecutive record,
so far as the terribly broken state of it permits ; and
no arrangement of the pieces will be here adopted
for which there is not good reason in the character
of the writing (which varies in different parts), the
spacing of the lines, the nature of the fibres, and
the style and position of the lines of later accounts
scribbled on the back of it. Where all these clues fail
to show the order of the fragments, we shall state
that the various pieces may be arranged in almost any
order.
Before entering on the details of the names and
reigns, it will be well to review the whole period
from the XII I th to the XVI Ith dynasties, and so
to see what is the general scheme of the evidence that
we have.
For this the remains of Manetho are our only
guide for the duration of the period. And we will first
review them briefly in their most reliable forms, the
text of Josephus, and the tables of Africanus and
Eusebius.
Africanus. Eusebius. Josephus.
Dynasty. Kings. Years. Dynasty. Kings. Years. on Hyksos.
XIII. 60 453 XIII. 60 453
or 153
XIV. 76 184 XIV. 76 484 (after confusion, at
leng-th they made a
king).
XV. 6 284 XV. X 250 Hyksos, 6 kings, 260
(Hyksos) (Theban) years.
XVI. 32 518 XVI. 5 190 (this people and their
(Shepherds) (Theban) descendants in all
511 years).
XVII. 43 151 XVII. 4 103
(Hyksos)
Setting aside for the present the details of the reigns
of the separate Hyksos kings, such are the materials
for unravelling this period.
202 THIRTEENTH AND FOURTEENTH DYNASTIES
The Turin papyrus gives in many cases the length
of the reigns, and the average of eleven reigns re-
maining is 6J years each in the period of the first
sixty kings, which is presumably the Xlllth dynasty.
This points to about 390 years for the whole sixty
kings, and agrees therefore with the 453 years far
better than with the reading 153 years. In fact,
deducting the 71 years of eleven kings from 153
years, there would only be left 82 years for forty-nine
kings, which would be certainly unlikely. We may
then adopt the reading 453 years as far the more
probable.
The next question is, were the Hyksos contemporary
with the Xlllth and XlVth dynasties? So far as the
Xlllth, the distribution of the monuments of the first
sixty kings of the Turin papyrus seems to show that
they held all Egypt. The fifteenth king is found at
Semneh and at Bubastis, the twenty-third at Tanis
and in Ethiopia, and the fifty-third is Ra'nehesi, who is
believed to be related to the king's son Nehesi found
at Tanis, and the king Nehesi found at Tell Mokdam.
We cannot then suppose the Hyksos to have been
contemporary with the 453 years of the Xlllth dynasty.
Probably the limit of the Xlllth dynasty is at the
mark of a new section beginning at No. 56 in T.P.,
as two or three kings may have been omitted in this
numbering.
The whole Hyksos period is stated at 511 years by
Manetho, according to Josephus, and is divided into
three stages. First, **they had our rulers in their
hands . . . and inflicted every barbarity." Next,
**At length they made one of themselves king," and
the six reigns occupying 260 years are specified. Then
** these six were the first rulers amongst them," and
the ** shepherd kings and their descendants retained
possession of Egypt 511 years." Here there is first a
period of harrying and plundering the native rulers;
second, a fixed Hyksos rule, well organised and long-
lived ; third, the rule of their descendants, extending
altogether to a dominion of 511 years, This totaj
».c 9098-1587.] THE HYKSOS 203
period is terminated by the expulsion of the Hyksos,
and the establishment of the XVIIIth dynasty.
Now, the essential difference between the summaries
of Africanus and Eusebius is, that the latter puts the
Hyksos at the end of the dark period ; while Africanus
inserts them between the XlVth and XVIIth dynasties.
As the account of Eusebius does not agree with
Josephus, while that of Africanus agrees in the number
of Hyksos kings and their reigns, it appears that
Africanus is the better guide. His XVIth dynasty is,
however, evidently the summary of the whole Hyksos
period, 518 years, according with the 511 of Josephus ;
and therefore including the 284 years stated before it,
and the 151 years stated after it. The XVIIth dynasty
of Africanus seems to be corrupt as to the number of
kings, stated as forty-three shepherd kings and forty-
three Thebans, who reigned together 151 years. The
equality of the numbers shows some corruption, and
the reigns are very short.
Some clue in this confusion may be reached by seeing
what dynasties will agree to the total Hyksos period.
The last 151 years of the Hyksos appears to have been
a joint rule of Hyksos suzerains and Egyptian vassals,
as shown in the tale of Apepa and Seqenenra. There
will therefore be 260 years of the great Hyksos kings,
and 151 years of their descendants, making 411 years of
their kings altogether. This would leave a round hun-
dred years, out of the total of 511, for the confused
period of their harrying of the Egyptians ; as that
was probably an indefinite period, of a gradual in-
crease of power, it is very likely to have been put
roundly at one century, which, added to the reigns of
411, made 511 years* total, or 518 years, according to
Africanus.
How, then, does this stand in relation to Egyptian
reigns? The 151 years at the end is a joint rule during
the XVIIth dynasty. But what went on during the six
great Hyksos kings and the confusion before them?
Africanus gives no material here ; but it seems not
unlikely that the XVIth Theban dynasty of Eusebius
204 THE HYKSOS Tovm. xv.-onm
refers to this age, five kings reigning 190 years, as we
see that his XVth dynasty is apparently intended for the
XVth dynasty of the six great Hyksos. This 190 years
occurs in the old Egyptian chronicle in Syncellus as of
eight kings, which is rather a more likely number. This,
then, is the material which, on the Egyptian side, makes
up the period of Hyksos rule.
^J^"' Egyptians. Hyksos. ^J^*
2565
XIII. 60 kings, 453 years.
2112 2098
1928
XIV. 76 kings, 184 ^
XVI. 8 kings, 190
years,
confusion 100
XV. 6 kings, 260
1998
1738
AVI. o Kings, 190 > AV. o Kings, 2bo 1 ,^
1738 1525 ^5"
XVII. X kings, 151 j XVII. x kings, 151 !
1587 ^ 1587
Such seems, from this very confused material, to be the
most likely original statement. If this be so, Africanus
has formed his digest thus —
His Xlllth is the Egyptian Xlllth,
„ XIV „ Egyptian XIV.
„ XV „ Hyksos XV.
,, XVI „ Hyksos total.
„ XVII „ joint XVII.
Eusebius, on the other hand, has compiled thus —
His Xlllth is the Egyptian Xlllth.
„ XIV „ Egyptian XIV.
„ XV „ Hyksos XV. (called Theban, as they
ruled over Thebes).
„ XVI „ Egyptian XVI.
„ XVII „ joint XVII.
Josephus has neglected the Egyptians altogether, and
given only the Hyksos material, according to his object.
The practical equivalence of the 511 years of the Hyksos,
the 518 years in Africanus, and the 525 years of the
three Egyptian dynasties, is our best clue through this
B.C. 2098-1587.. THE HYKSOS 205
tangle ; and the small differences between these amounts
may readily be accoimted for by the count of 100 years
in round numbers for the confusion beginning the
Hyksos domination, and by some one king being
reckoned as independent at the beginning of the XI Vth
or end of the XVI Ith dynasty.
If we accept the above settlement, we may divide the
periods thus in detail —
XIII. — 60 kingfs, 453 years
{14 years before Hyksos
100 years harried by the Hyksos 'j
70 years under the g^reat Hyksos "I 260 I 51 1
XVI. — 8 kings, 190 years „ „ ,, jyrs. jyrs.
XVII. — :r kings, 151 years* struggles with Hyksos J
This arrangement is corroborated by a fragment of
the Turin papyrus, which has been certainly misplaced
hitherto ; it is numbered 32, but cannot belong to the
I Vth dynasty (where it has been placed), both by the
lengths of the reigns, and by the part of a name ze/a.
Nor can it be placed at any other part of the papyrus
until we reach the end of the XI Vth dynasty. Here are
met a few other fragments which agree with it in the
spacing, the writing, and the plain back (122, 133, 135).
And in the XI Vth dynasty before it are at least three
kings ending in zefa^ so that the type of name was
not then uncommon. The lengths of reigns also accord
better with this age of the XVIth dynasty than with any
other unsettled period. The numbers are 6, 6, 24, 24,
21,8 years. The 6 year reigns might be the end of the
XlVth dynasty ; and if four reigns occupy 77 years,
that would leave 113 years for the remaining four
reigns in the XVIth dynasty ; not at all an unlikely
number, when we have two of 24 years already here
before us.
Until, then, some further material may come to light,
it does not seem that we can do better than accept pro-
visionally the arrangement which we have here outlined.
And on this basis we shall now proceed to deal with the
details of this period.
2o6
THIRTEENTH DYNASTY
[dyn. xin.
Xlllth dynasty, about 2565-21 12 B.C.
According to the Turin papyrus.
** Mon. " refers to account of monuments, follow-
ing this.
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
II
12
13
>5
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
YBARS.
Ra'khu'taui
Ra'sekhem'ka . Mon. 6
Ra 'amen *em *hat
Ra's'hotep'ab
Aufni
{Ra's'ankh'ab . Mon.
( Ameny Antef Amenemhat)
Ra's'men'ka
Ra's'hotep'ab . Mon.
ka
Ra'nezem'ab
Ra*sebek(hote)p Mon.
Ren'senb
Ra'fu'ab . . Mon.
Ra'sezef (a*ab)
{Ra 'sekhem *khu *taui
Sebek'hotep (I.) Moru
Ra'user ra
{Ra(smenkh)ka • Mon. .
Mer'meshau
r ka
\Anu
..user'ur..
{Ra(sekhem 'suaz "taui)
Sebek'hotep (II.) Mon.
{Ra*kha*(seshes) .
Nefer'hotep
Ra'hat'heru'sa
{Ra'kha'nefer
Sebek'hotep (III )
[Brug^sch supposes two lost
here, namely
Ra'kha'ka
/Ra'kha'ankh
VSebek-hotep (IV. ?]
/Ra'kha'hotep . Mon,
\Sebekliotep (V. ?) 4y. 8m. 29d.
3
Mon. II
Mon.
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
S3
54
55
ni
{Ra'uah'ab . • Moo.
ASL'ab . loy. 8m. 281
{Ra'mer'nefer . Moo.
(Ay) . , 23y. 8m. 18
Ra'mer'hotep Mon. 2y. 20.9
{Ra*sankh'n
Set hetu ?
{Ra'mer 'sekhem ?
An'ren
{Ra'suaz'ka •
Hora
• • • • • All •••••• t •
to 35 lost.
Ra'mer'kheper
{(Ra)'mer?ka
(Sebek'hotep VI. ?)
ka
Lost.
mes
{Ra...maa,t • . Moa
Aba .
{Ra...uben
Hora?
ka
Ra...maa.
Ra
37- MB.
3y. im.
. i+:
. 2+'
Moo.
Ha
Sa
Hapu
Shemsu
Mena....
Ur....
Ra'nehesi
Ra'khathi
...neb'fu
PGrq
§.3
003
vo •-♦■
Mon.?
ly. 5"^ *i
A fresh heading begins at the next entry ; and as the
above section contains nearly the number of kings (fifty-
B.C 25«o-25«>.] SEKHEM-KA'RA 207
five or fifty-seven) in Manetho*s Xlllth dynasty, it is
probable that at this point is the end of this dynasty.
The names that follow in the papyrus have a new type,
three of them ending in ....zefa, which has not occurred
in the foregoing part.
We shall now refer only to those kings of whom
some remains are known ; leaving, with the above
mention, those who are only recorded in the Turin
papyrus.
XIII. 2. Sekhem-ka-ra f O § tJ I j^^
about
^560 B.C.
A stele naming this king was found, probably at
Benha, and subsequently copied by Brugsch at Alex-
andria (B.T. 1455) ; its place is now unknown. It is a
tablet of a noble, a king's son, named Meryra (perhaps
the same of whom a scarab remains, P.I. viii. 40). On
the upper part a Nile figure kneels, offering vases bearing
ankh'ded'uas to the hawk on the ka name, S'ankh'
taut: the cartouche of Sekhem'ka'ra comes next to
this. His third year is named on a papyrus from
Kahun (G.K. ix.).
XIII. 6. Sankh'ab'ra O
fW}
about 2520
B.C.
AmENY • ANTEF 'AMEN 'EM ' HAT
Of this king a noble table of offerings was found at
Karnak. It consists of two square blocks of quartzite,
carved with twenty small cup hollows in rows on the
top, and bearing the various titles and names of the
king around the sides (G. Mus.; M.K. ix.-x.).
2o8
RA-FU-AB
[dtn. xir. 13.
! about
10
■ I — — I "^1 BaC*
Some scarabs bearing this name
(P. Mus.; F.P. Coll.) are so rude in
workmanship that they cannot be
assigned to the reign of Amenemhat
I., in which fine work prevailed. fig. 116.— Cowroids
(F.P. ColL).
XIII. II. Ra SEBEK'HOTEPl O
c
^
about
2490
B.C.
Two scarabs of this king are known (F.P, and H.
Colls.).
t'iG. 117. — Scarabs (F.P. and H. Colls.).
XIII. 13. Ra'FU'AB
The pyramid of this king has been identified this year
with the south brick pyramid of Dahshur. In this
was found the coffin and an ebony statue of this king.
Near this pyramid was the tomb of a princess, Nub*
hetep'ta'khrudet, found intact with all the furniture.
Particulars have not yet been published.
B.C 246o-34SO>J
MERMESHAU
209
XIII. 15. RA'SEKHEM'KHU'TAUiI O
(IlSJ
Sebek'hotep I
•C§3J
about
2460 B.C.
Bubastis, lintels (N.B. xxxiii. G.I.).
Kahun, papyrus (G.K. x.).
Semneh, Nile records (L.D. ii. 151 a-d).
Cylinders (B. Mus.; E. Coll.).
Fio. 118.— Cylinder
(B. Mus.).
This king appears as a builder at Bubastis, two
lintel blocks bearing his name. At Kahun a papyrus
was found dated in his third year. The records of the
high Nile at Semneh are of each year to the fourth.
And some cylinders bear his throne name ; while many
scarabs inscribed only Sebekhotep are probably of his
age.
XIII. 17. Ra'smenkh'kaI O
C
n
AA^^<^A
e
iuj
Mer'meshau
CEEIDi
about
2450
Two large statues of grey syenite at Tanis bear
these names (P.T. I. iii. 16). They are finely and
massively executed, and differ much in style from the
slender and shallow work in red granite of Sebek-
hotep III.; but this difference of style is easily due to
the different local schools of art at different quarries.
The statues were afterwards appropriated by Apcpa,
who carved his name on the arm (P.T. I. xiii. 6).
There is some doubt as to the position of the king repre-
sented by these statues. In the Turin papyrus this
No. 17 has only ka left at the end of the cartouche, and
1-14
tift MER-MESHAU {<»
following it mer-mesha, as the personal name o
As that, however, was a common military title, and
also the title of the high priest of Mendes, there mi^ht
be more than one king so called. On the other hand,
a later king, No. 79, is named Ra'smen . . . ,; but Ik
is not KO likely to have erected statues, as by that t
the Hyksos were in the land, and it is rather in the f
fifty-tive names that this must be sought, thougl'
might be any one of ten missing names in this period.
On the whole, it is probable that the seventeenth king
is the one represented. Whether he were a general of
the high priest has been debated ; but as on the statues
he is said to be loved of Ptah, and not of the Mendesian
Ba'neb'dad, he is more likely to have been a general.
XIII. 20.
Ra'SEKHEM'SL'AZ
Sebbk-hotbp II.
TAUl fo } p I ^'
GJEK
about 3420 B.C.
(G. Mus-V
This king is known on monuments with these two
names ; but of the ftrst cartouche only the Ra is certain
B.1
SEBEK-HOTEP II
king adoring; Min. They a
in the Turin papyrus, and the rest is blotted and
broken. As, however, there is no other Sebekhotep
without a fixed place in the papyrus, it is probable that
this position No, 20 belongs to this king. His principal
monument is a stele bearing his names in the Louvre
(Pr. M. viii.) (Fig. 121) ; the scene represents two
deceased daughters of a kin * ' '"
Auhet 'abu and Anqef
dudu, born of the
queen Nen na What
relation they were to
the king Sebekhotep / ^
II. is not stated
They can hardly have
been his s sters as
his mother s stated
oh the scarabs to
have been Auhet abu
and not Nen na But
they m ght have been
his daughters or
aunts. It has been
supposed that this
deceased Auhet 'abu
is the same as his
mother, but in that
case she would cer-
tainly have been given
the higher title of
royal mother, and not
only royal daughter.
More is recorded
of the &mily on
scarabs, and on a fig. «..-s.deofSeboi,houpii.
tablet at Vienna (ReC. Royal daughters adoring Min.
vii. 188). From
these we learn that the parents of Sebekhotep II. were
the divine father Mentuhotep (P. Mus.; G. Mus.), and
the royal mother Auhefabu (G. Mus.; M. Coll.). The
tablet is of a prince Senb, whose parents were likewise
aia SEBEKHOTEP II on..
Mentuhotep and the king's mother Auhet'^u, prettr t
certainly the same persons. Further, the children of I
Senb are stated as Sebekhotep, Auhefabu, Hent, aaA ]
Mentuhotep.
This king is mentioned in the tomb ot Sebek'nekht '
at El Kab, as having g^ven lands to the temple at thit
place (L.D. iii. 13 b).
X!II. 21
Ra'kha-sbsmbs
Nefer-hotep
^0.
M
a
-D >
Abydos
stele
(M.A.i
»8-3o).
Kamak
Cartouche
(M.K.
lILoV
Shut er Rega
Inscription
(P.S.479J.
(P-S. 337^
Aswan
Family tablet
Sehel
Steles
(L.D. i
M.D.
iSfi:
Konosso
Steles
{L.D.h
Tsif.h).
Statue
Boiogiia Mus.
Scarabs
F
~^ about
2410 B.C.
F.p. CoiL^
The large stele of this king found at Abydos records
his sending to repair tiie temple there according to the
directions of the sacred books, and to learn the will
of the god ; for when he had unrolled and read the
writings, he desired to honour the god according to all
that he had seen in the books. There is some reason
to suspect from the style of this stele that it may not
be really of this age ; and the matter of it is so likely
to have served to excite the liberality of some later
king, that we may pause before fully accepting it.
One small point is of value, that the king sends a
messenger southward to Abydos, which suggests that
. «Kt I*!...) NEFER-HOTEP 113
-^the Xlllth dynasty did not live at Thebes. !t is
^ possible, as Sebek was constantly adored by them, and
[, the statue of Neferhotep calls him beloved of Sebek in
the midst of Shed (or Crocodilopolis), that the seat of
g £^vernment was r^y in the Fayum ; having remained
. theresince the close
' of the Xllth dyn-
asty, the remains
of which time are
mainly in that pro-
. vince. A smaller
I stele found at Aby-
I dos shows Nefer-
. hotep before the
^od Min (M.A.
768).
A block at Kar-
nak, which bears
the cartouches of
I both Neferhotep
andSebekhoteplII.
(M.K. vili, n, o)
shows that very
probably they were
CO regents. We
know from the
scarabs that the
father of each of
these kings bore
the samename, Ha'ankh'f, and the mother of a Sebek-
hotep was Kema, like the mother of Neferhotep.
Hence we can hardly doubt that they were brothers.
But two rock inscriptions at Aswan (P.S. 337) and
Sehel (M.D. Ixx. 3) record more of the family. From
these we gather that Ha'ankh'f and Kema were the
parents of Neferhotep; that Senbsen was his wife,
and that there were four royal children, Hafhor'sa,
Sebekhotep, Ha'ankh'f, and Kema. The repetition of
family names leaves the relationships dubious. We
can only state them thus —
[3.— Statuette of Neferhotep.
RA-KHA(SESHES) If
Ha*ankh'f= Royal mother Kema
Neferhotep=Senbsen Sebekhot
Hal-hor'sa Sebekhotep Ha'ankh'f = Kema
associated and |
died young? Sebekhotep III.(?)
leaving yet unsettled the question of whether Sebek-
hotep III. was brother or grandson of Neferhotep.
At Shut er Regal, near Silsileh, is a cartouche of
Fio. 134.— Black basalt fllaluelle of Neferholep (Bologna Mus.).
Neferhotep ; and at Sehel and Konosso, at the First
Cataract, are other steles which only show Neferhotep
with Anqet, Min, and Sati,
tcjtTD.) NEFER-HOTEP 215
An excellent work of this reign is the seated statuette
of black basalt in the Bologna Museum {Figs. 123, 124).
It has the old traditions of Egyptian statuary, but with
a certain weakness and youthfulness of expression
which is different from any earlier works. In this it
shows kinship to the large statues of the other brother,
Sebekhotep III.
The scarabs of Neferhotep confirm the parentage
reported by the tablet at Aswan, but are not of further
interest.
XIII. 23. Ra'kha'nefer
Sebekhotep (III
Tanu, statue (P.T. I. iii,
Kamak, cartouche (M.K. v
Gcbelen, sphinit(G. Mus.}.
Arqo, Nubia, statue (L.D. i
Statuea, Louvre.
Scarabs.
J'^ about
2400
{P.P. Coll).
The remains ot this king are more widespread than
those of any other reign in this dynasty. A fine statue
in brown-red granite lies at Tanis {Fig 126) (P.T. I.
iii. 16); and a fellow-statue of double life size in
the Louvre, of uncertain source, probably came from
the same place. There is also a statue almost hfe size
in black granite (P. Mus.). These statues are finely
and gracefully wrought, but without the vigour of
earlier work, or even of the Mer-meshau statue carved
shortly before them ; and as they have never been
usurped by any king, they have not been brought
Ji6
RA'KHA-NEFER
tDY».X
at a later date from elsewhere. A small sphinx of black
granite was found at Gebelen {G. Mus.).
The cartouche occurs at Kar-
nak {M.K. viii. n) with that of
Neferhotep, as we have noticed
before. And there was found
also an adoration to this king
from a mer-meshau named
Amenemhat (M.K. viii. p).
But the most astonishing
remains of this dynasty arc
oTSebekholep III., Tanis.
Fig. 127, — Gray eranite
coloBBus of Sebefcbotep
111., Islaad of Arqo,
the statues lying on the island of Arqo above the
Third Cataract (see Hoskins' Ethiopia, p. 213). These
are two colossi of grey granite, 23 feet high, lying upon
their backs, one of them yet whole (Fig. la?). One is
inscribed with the full names and titles of this king
{L.D. i, 120; ii. 51 i). A remarkable point of de-
coration is a wreath around the top of the crown of
Lower Egypt on one statue ; such is unknown on
any other Egyptian figure. These figures cannot have
been brought up the cataracts, and must therefore
B.C. 2400.] SEBEKHOTEP III 217
have been cut in Upper Nubia, probably in a quarry
at Tombos. They formed part of a temple there, of
which some figures of baboons yet remain, together
with a seated statue of Sebekhotep with inscriptions.
There is then the proof that as late as the middle of
the Xlllth dynasty the Egyptians held the country
far above Semneh, which had been the frontier of the
Xllth dynasty. With power thus widely extended,
we see no sign of foreign invasion, nor of internal
weakness. Why it is that there are so few remains of
this dynasty must rather be attributed to the lack of
taste for building than to the lack of power.
The scarabs of Sebekhotep III. are common, and
usually combine both of his names.
Ra'kha'KA I O Q LJ 1 about 2390 B.C.
In the table of Karnak, amid the originally confused
and now fragmentary sequences of that record, there
occur in successive order Ra'sankh'ab, Ra'sekhem*
khu'taui, Ra'sekhem*suaz*taui? ; Ra*kha*seshes, and
Ra'kha'nefer, or the 6th, 15th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd
kings of the Turin papyrus ; then comes a lost piece
which is restored by Lepsius as Ra*kha*ka, though as
that part was missing even when Burton made his
copy early in this century, it is difficult to know on what
ground Lepsius — or L'Hote, from whom he copied —
ventured on this restoration. Coming to the next
line, we see Ra*kha*ankh, Ra'kha*(hotep?), and then
three kings which cannot be identified in this part of
the Turin list, before reaching Ra*mer*kau, the 37th
king of Turin. This discrepancy shows that we cannot
assign much weight, even in a favourable passage, to
the sequence in the Karnak list. However, on the
strength of that list, Brugsch has inserted two kings,
Ra'kha'ka and Ra'kha'ankh (Sebekhotep) at the foot
of the broken column of the Turin papyrus, ending now
at No. 23, before the next column begins at No. 24.
*i8 RA-KHA-ICA lon-tm.
The best ground for this is the difficulty of finding an;
uthvr place for Ra'kha-ankh among' the known nama
of the Turin papyrus; but as at least half a doaen
names are wholly lost out of the Xlllth dynasty, that
matter might easily have another resolution. All we
can say is that this king belongs to some positioo
before the decadence of the dynasty, and
that the Karnak list suggests the place
for him, and also for a king Ra'kha'lut,
if the restoration of Lepsius has any
authority.
Of Ra-kha-ka there is one scarab (F.P.
Coll.), which can hardly be attributed to
the other king of that name in the pre-
ceding dynasty, as it is coarsely made of
pottery. l
Ra'KHA'ANKH
(ZEEI
about
2390
Sebek'hotep
"""CHSl
Fig. 139. — Sanib
{G. Coll).
Koptos, part of stele.
Stele, Leydeii,
Slabs from temple {P. Mus.; B 4, s ; C 9, w).
Scarab (G. Coll.).
Queen? Nub'em-hat.
liaughter? Sebek-em-heb.
At Koptos a fragment of a private stele names the
king's daughter Sebek'em'heb, whose mother (?) was
the great royal wife Nub'em'hat, and mentions the
Hor sam taut, apparently Sebekhotep IV. still living ;
the inscription is for Per'nub, who seems to have been
the daughter of the son of a royal courtier Amena,
who was son of a queen Ha'ankh-s. This would put
Ha'ankh-s about two or three generations before
■.ciw'ji*) SEBEK-HOTEP rv 219
, Sebekhotep IV., and thus she might be of the same
, age as Ha-ankh-f, the father of Sebekhotep III.
Four slabs sawn from the building of some temple
are in the Louvre, on which the king is shown offering
to Min and Ptah. A stele is also in Leyden, and one
rude scarab is known (G. Coll.).
XIII. 24. Ra-kha-hotep [ Q .
Sebek'hotep (V?). / ^
Of this king only two scarabs are known ;
they are of the same type, with throne name
and personal name, thus proving the car-
touches to be of one king {P. Mus.; G.
Mus.).
A cylinder of this king, naming him
"beloved of Sebek, lord of Su'uaz" (G.
Coll.). and a scarab (F.P. Coll.) are
known. Also a piece of blue glazed cup
from Kahun with the beginning of a
royal name Ra'uah .... is probably of
this reign {P.K. x. 72).
RA'NEB-HAAT
f '^ about
-^^-^ 3341
B.C.
QHD
Fig. i33.-ScMdi
(G. Hib}.
Here again scarabs are the only memorial. A fev
bear the throne name, and one (in G. Mus.) has both
XIII. 27. /• —
Ra-mer-hotbp [ O
One scarab in the Louvre is the only contemporary
object bearing the names of this king.
XIII. 37. Ra'merPkau
about
3290
— — ^' B.C.
SEBEKHOTEP {VI. ?). ( "S^T^ ci n J
Of this king there Is only a seated porphyry statue at
Karnak, and no other remains (M.K. viii. 6).
41. f^
MAAT ( I
260 B.C.^ —
Xni.41. , ^
Ra'neb'maat ( G ■
about 2260 B
D
GHD
m«. 3360.] RA'NEB'MAAT 221
One scarab may be attributed to this period by the
style of it, and there is no other name but the broken
Ra . . . maat in the Turin list to which it can be
referred.
.XIII. 47-52. This fragment (No. 41) of the Turin
papyrus has hitherto been unplaced, or rather hope-
lessly misplaced in the Vlth dynasty. There is no
position possible for it until we reach this point, which
the style of the writing on the back would indicate.
A fragment placed in this column by the restorers
(No. 89) would fit No. 41 well in the spacing of lines on
both sides, and their relative positions. The names on
this are of a peculiar type ; they are simple personal
names, but revert to the most high-flown origin,
recalling the god Hapi, the Shemsu-hor, king Mena,
and **the great" somebody. In the names shortly
before this we see the same brief style. Aba and Hora :
so that we might regard these as the last efforts to retain
some dignity in an expiring dynasty, who had not even
the heart to adopt the Ra names and full royal title ;
somewhat like the Roman Empire closing with a Julius
and a Romulus before its extinction in the barbarian
flood.
XIII. 53. Nehesi, the successor of these kings, appears
to have been a negro ; either a conqueror from the
south, which is hardly likely, as his remains are in the
extreme north ; or more probably a Sudani slave or
soldier raised into power, as the only hope of an
expiring rule. In the list of Turin we read No. 53
as Ra'nehesi. On the statue from Tell
Mokdam near Bubastis M. Naville has
read the name of the king as Nehesi,
or **the negro" (N.A. iv. 28). On a
piece of an obelisk at Tanis (P.T. I.
iii. 19) **the king's eldest son Nehesi"
is twice named, as erecting monuments Fig. 135.— Scarab
to Set. And a scarab remains of **the (Brent Coll.).
king's son Nehesi" (Brent Coll.) (Fig.
135)
222 SEBEK*EM*SA'F I [ovK-sm.
Before entering on the XI Vth dynasty, we must notice
some kings whose names remain on monuments, but
whose historical position is doubtful. Some of these
kings were apparently powerful, and have left respect-
able remains ; and the question is whether they belong
to the gaps in the Xlllth d3masty, and are lost from
the Turin papyrus, or whether they were among the
long - reigned kings of the XVIth dynasty. The
connection of name with that of Rahotep, who is
again connected by his titles with the early XVIIIth
dynasty, seems to point to all these belonging to the
lost XVIth Egyptian dynasty under the great Hyksos
kings.
In the Xlllth dynasty, however, there are seventeen
kings out of forty-six known names to whom some
remains can be assigned, or about one monumental
king in three names ; and about nine or ten names
are almost entirely lost, which might therefore well
include three or four monumental kings. Hence
there is fairly room in the gaps of the Turin pap3TUS
of the Xlllth dynasty for most of the following
names, which are here ranked in order of their im-
portance.
RA'SEKHEM'UAZ'KHAU ( ® Y I I J
I
SeBEK'EM'SA'F (I.)
CES2J
A standing statue of red granite three-quarters life
size was found at Abydos (G. Mus.), with the names ot
this king (M.A. ii. 26) ; and a relief sculptured on the
block by the legs, shows his son Sebekemsaf as
deceased, which proves that this was not the son
known as Sebekemsaf II, Another and smaller seated
SEBEK'EMSA-F I
figure of the king in black
basalt, was probably found at
Thebes {Fig. 136) ; it Is head-
less, but bears the Iting's
names down the front of the
throne. The work is cold
and formal, and the signs
rudely marked (F.P. Coll.;
P.S. xxi. 2).
Two steles in the Wady
Hammamat show the king
adoring Min, and bear both
of his cartouches (L.D. ii. 151,
k, 1). And at Shut er Regal
the cartouche also occurs (P.S.
385). Some objects from the
royal tomh have come to light,
through Arab hands ; a heart
scarab (B. Mus.), a box {Ley-
den Mus.), and a gold plated
scarab with the personal name,
probably of this king (H.
Coll.).
Fig. 136.— Basalt staluellc of
SebdLemsaf. Tbebes{F.P.
Coll.).
Ra-sekhbm-5-s
■ Cmj
,^\!
Sebek-bm-sauf {II.) C "^^^ ^ ${ ff J
This king is only known from the Abbott and Am-
herst papyri, which record the official inquiry concern-
ing the royal tombs in the XXth dynasty. In the
Abbott papyrus we read: "It was found that the
824 SEBEK*EM*SAUF II [oTN.m
thieves had violated the tomb by undermining the
chamber of the ground level of the pyramid, from
the great exterior chamber of the sepulchre of the
overseer of the granaries, Neb-Amen, of the kii^
Men'kheper'ra. The place of sepulture of the king |
was found to be void of its occupant ; so was the place
of sepulture of the principal royal spouse, Nub'kha's, :
his royal wife; the thieves had laid hands on them"
(R.P. xii. io6). The Amherst papyrus gives the con- "
fession which was afterwards extracted from one of
the thieves. He states that they broke into the
passage, and found the tomb ** protected and sur-
rounded by masonry and covered with roofing; we
destroyed it completely, and found them (the king and
queen) reposing. We opened their sarcophagi and
their coffins in which they were. We found the august
mummy of the king with his divine axe beside him,
and many amulets and ornaments of gold about his
neck. His head was overlaid above with gold, and
the august body of the king was wholly covered with
gold ; his coffins were burnished with gold and silver,
within and without, and inlaid with all kinds of stones.
We took the gold which we found on the august
mummy of the god, and the amulets and ornaments
that were about his neck and the coffins in which he
lay. Having also found the royal wife, we likewise
took all that which we found with her ; and we set fire
to their coffins, and stole their furniture which we
found with them, vases of gold, of silver, and of
bronze, and divided them. We parted the gold .which
we found with the god, in their august mummies, the
amulets, the ornaments, and the coffins, into eight
lots" (C.E. ii. 9-12). We have here the example of
what has gone on in all ages in the tombs of the kings
and great men of Egypt. From the Abbott papyrus
we learn that Nub'kha's was the queen of Sebek"
em'sauf, and can date a stele in the Louvre which is
dedicated in the name of the ** great heiress, the
greatly favoured, the ruler of all women, the great
royal wife, united to the crown, Nub'kha's" (P.R.
SEBEK-EMSAUF II 225
ii. 5). This stele gives an interesting family genealogy
of the queen. She was daughter of the chief of the
judges, Sebekdudu ; and he appears to have had four
wives. The more important part of the family stands
thus —
*'=Hemu Nebankh=;r
I
I . I
uat'nefert — Sebek'dudu Nebankh
I II II.
ikhas = Sebekemsauf Ncbsu... Sebckhotep Sebekemsauf other children
»cn king Nebankh
Sebekemhat
j j I Nubemhebu
nsu* Bebares Duatnefert
fTan*
tib
By a wife, Hemtsuten, Sebekdudu had Theti'antef.
By a wife, Dudut, Sebekdudu had Mentunesu and
Hapiu.
By a wife, Senankh, Sebekdudu had Sebekhotep,
who appears to have married his half-sister Hapiu, and
had two children, Ada and Senankh, the latter of whom
had a daughter Hapiu.
From the name of Sebek, and the use of Shedi by the
second Sebekemsauf, it seems that these kings had
their seat in the Fayum.
Ra'sekhem-nefer-khau , - . r^ , , ,
Mi
Up-uat-em-saf ( V" ^ I m, A '^^^ J
Fig. 137. — Scarab
(H. Coll.).
This king is found on a stele formerly belonging to
Harris (B. Mus.). And a scarab (H. Coll.) seems to
226
KHEX-ZER
foTX. na
bear the same name, with the addition of Khe'ha, which
may be part of a ^ name combined with it.
RA'MEN'KHAU
Snaa'ab
On a tablet found at Abydos (G. Mus.), this king is
represented adoring Min (M.A. 771 ; ii. 27 b), but there
is nothing to throw light on the age or connection of it
The style, however, is ruder than that of the other
monuments of this dynasty.
RA"EN*MAA*EN*KHA
Khen'zer
C
o
/S/VW>A
c:
/S/VW>A
3
A stele bearing these two cartouches of one king is in
the Louvre, recording the repairs of the temple of
Usertesen I. at Abydos by Ameny-
senb (C.E. iii. 2, 203 ; L.A. x.)
(Fig. 138).
These five kings comprise all
the unplaced ones that are likely
to belong to the XII I th dynasty.
The positions of these kings
may well be either between Nos.
23 and 24, or in 31 to 35 of the
Turin papyrus, but more cannot
be said ; three of these ending in Khau suggests that
they belong together, and links them with Rahotep.
The name read Ra*sekhem'up*taui is probably
Fig. 138.— Cartouches of
Khenzer(P. Mus.).
2112-1928.]
FOURTEENTH DYNASTY
227
:bekhotep I. misread ; Ra*nefer*kheper*ka is Tahutmes
misread ; Ra*en*mut*er'ka is doubtful, and may be
i*en*zer*ka.
XlVth Dynasty, about 21 12-1928 b.c.
According to the Turin papyrus.
The numbering is consecutive with that of the
Xlllth dynasty.
56
YKARS.
Ra'seheb . . 3
82
to 86 (lost)
YEARS.
57
Ra'mer'zefau . 3 +
87
Ra'snefer....
Moil.
58
Ra'senb'ka . i
88
Ra'men....
59
Ra'ra'neb'zefau . 1
89
...uah
60
Ra'uben . . 4 ?
90
(lost)
61
(lost)
(After this point the
91
(lost)
various fragments
92
(lost)
may be arranged
93
•
in many ways, and
94
xV* • • • •
have unknown
95
A
spaces between
. —
them.)
96
ka
62
zefa • .4
97
(lost)
63
uben
98
Hapu
64
....ut'ab
99
ka Nenu
65
Ra'her'ab
100
ka Bebnm....
66
Ra*neb*scn
lOI
102
(lost)
Ra
67
(lost)
68
Ra...
103
Ra-ha
69
Ra'skheper'en
104
Ra-ha
70
Ra'dad'kheru
105
Ra'ses
71
Ra'sankh....
106
Ra'neb'ati'au
72
Ra'nefertum...
107
Ra*neb*ati*au
73
Ra'sekhem
108
Ra'smen....
74
Ra-ka ab?
109
Ra'se'user
12
75
Ra'nefer'ab . Mon.
no
Ra 'ha -shed
76
Ra*a
77
Ra-kha
III
Ra'ha....
78
Ra'ankh'ka 5
112
(lost)
79
Ra'smen
—
80
(lost)
J»3
1 14 (lost)
228
FOURTEENTH DYNASTY
[DYN. XIV
«i5
ii6
'17
118
119
121
122
123
124
«25
126
127
128
129
Ra
(lost)
(Summation)
Ra'user
Ra'user
120 (lost)
A..f.....
Set
Sunu....
Hor....
An'ab
Ra s
Pcnens..n sept
Pcdu nebti
heb'ra
(Summation ?)
YEARS.
130
136
137
138
139
140
YEARS.
to 132 (lost)
6
6
24
24
21
8
(lost)
(lost) .
• • • • Zd£l
(lost) .
(lost) .
(lost) .
(lost) .
to 142 (lost)
(This last piece (frag. 32)
has been formerly niis-
placed in the IVth
dynasty; but there is
no place possible fof ^^
until we reach the long
reigns of the XVlth
dynasty ; it appears to
join with fragments i22i
133, and 135.)
In these fragments is seen the same breakdown o*
the Ra names toward the close, and a reversion to
private names alone, which we noticed before on ^
piece which is probably of the close of the previous
dynasty. The fragments with names, 91 to 95 and
1 21-124, have been attributed to the Hyksos, ap-
parently on the ground of the names beginning with
Set.... and A.... (like Staan and Apepi) ; but as the
other entries do not agree to the known Hyksos names,
it seems probable that they may belong to the XlVth
dynasty, when that was contemporary with Hyksos
kings, and followed the style of their names.
We have already discussed the arrangement of the
dynasties of this age, and will just recapitulate the
order at which we arrived.
Egyptians.
XIV. 76 kings 14 years before Hyksos ?
100 years harried by Hyksos
70 years under great Hyksos "i
XVI. 8 kings 190 years under great Hyksos/
XVII. X kings 151 years struggles with Hyksos
Hyksos.
JOG years' confusioii
260 years. Grca
Hyksos kings.
151 years kmgs.
B.C. 3XZ3-T938.1
FOURTEENTH DYNASTY
229
From this we gather that the average reigns of the
XlVth dynasty were but two and a half years each ;
and the average of the thirteen reigns, assigned and
unassigned, that remain in this latter part of the Turin
papyrus is under three years, or, excepting one unusu-
Eilly long reign, it is two years. So the accordance of
the average is very close, and gives us some confidence
in Manetho*s numbers of both years and kings. The
total number of kings after the Xlllth is at least 85,
and was probably about no, in the Turin papyrus.
This would accord to the 76 + 8 = 84 kings of the XlVth
and XVIth dynasties, with perhaps the other kings of
the XVI I th dynasty.
Of only two kings of the XlVth dynasty can any
remains be identified, namely, 75 Ra'nefer'ab. This
cartouche is reported to have been copied
on a stone in the mosque at Beni Ali
(near Manfalut?) by Gliddon (MS. note
by Dr. Birch) ; the ka name, though in-
completely copied {,,u'taui)^ is enough to
show that this is not the name of Psam-
thek II. One scarab bears this name ^'"'VT^^iZ,??'^^
(T. Mus.) (Fig. 139). ^^' ''""^-
87 Ra'senefer. This may be the same king as on
a scarab bearing Ra'senefer at Berlin.
Of other kings who belong to this period, some are
known from the table of Karnak, which gives the kings
of this age in the following order —
ka .
• •
Turin list,
2?
Ra'suaz'en
• • t
9 • ■
Ra'sankh'ab .
• •
6
Ra 'sekhem *khu *taui
15
Ra*sekhem*suaz*taui ? .
20
Ra'kha'seshes
21
Ra'kha'nefer
23
Ra-kha-ka ? ?
23 a?
Ra-kha'ankh .
23 b?
Ra-kha (hotep ?)
24
Ra'snefer... .
87?
Ra
• • •
Ra'ses'user'taui
• •
Ra'mer'kau .
37
SrJO
FOURTEENTH DYNASTY
(DYN. XIV.
Ra 'mer 'sekhem
(Lost)
Ra 'sekhem *iiaz *kau
(Two lost)
Ra*khu*taui .
Ra'mer'hotep
Ra'suah'en
Ra...uah*khau.
(Three lost) .
Ra'za
Ra'suaz'en
Ra'snefer... ,
Ra
. Turi
Sebekemsaf ?
list, 29
1
27
87?
We have here followed the lines of names in the
reverse order to that in which they read, as this is
evidently the sequence of the Sebekhotep family. The
order seems, however, to be so wild in the later part
that it is hopeless to trust to it for any historical ideas.
On scarabs we meet with one of these names, namely.
Ra'suaz'en, on four scarabs of very rude work (B. Mus.,
P. Mus., Koptos, and Sayce). And some names are
only known from scarabs, as —
Ra'nefer (common)
Ra'kheper
Ra'nefer'ankh
Ra'kha'neferui
Ra'neb'neferui
Ra'nub'neferui
{Neferui'ka'dad'uah
Ka'ankh'et'nefer'kha
Uaz'neferui (vassal of ihe above)
Ra'nefer'iiub
Ra'set'pehti
Ra 'set 'nub
Ra'peh'nub
Ra'nub'uaz
Ra'nub'hotep (common)
There are also many other groups of signs which may
perhaps be personal names, or else merely ornaments
or emblems. As these are already published (P. Sc),
it is not needful to go further into them.
An unanswered difficulty with regard to the XlVth
dynasty is the position stated for its capital. Xois is
.c.2ii2rx928.l FOURTEENTH DYNASTY 231
identified with Sakha, in the central Delta rather on the
western side. How it came about that on the invasion
of the country from the north-east, the native rulers
should appear to have backed to the west, instead of
retreating up the Nile valley, — how it was that they
should have been known by the name of a Delta town
in the region of the invaders, instead of a southern
town such as Thebes or Aswan, — is a hard question.
There are various solutions which should be kept in
view, to see if any further light can be thrown on them,
(i) The dynasty may have originated at Xois, and have
been dispossessed by the Hyksos southwards, holding
yet a pre-eminence in the country above other native
nilers as being the fighting frontier organisation to
which others adhered. Thus it may not have ruled
at Xois for any appreciable time, but have been a
southern dynasty only starting from there. (2) Or the
Hyksos may have overrun the country, and compelled
the legitimate line to reside within their power in the
I^elta, so as to prevent revolt. (3) Or, as the Hyksos
Were a Syrian people not accustomed to wide rivers and
I, Marshes, it is possible that the lines of the Nile and
''canals were a better defence for the natives than any
i distance of retreat up the valley. At Sakha itself there
are no signs of any important ancient town ; and
beyond one or two pieces of Roman work, it shows no
antiquities ; it might then be suspected that the real
site of this dynasty was some southern city, the name
of which was misread by Manetho, and converted into
that of a town with which he must have been familiar,
within a few hours' walk of his own home at Sebenny-
tus. But no likely substitution can be suggested, such
as that of Elephantine for Sakhebu in the Vth dynasty.
The nature of this dynasty, a long series of ephemeral
rulers, reigning only two or three years on an average,
is clearly artificial. They were, in fact, merely the
puppets of the Hyksos power, the heads of the native
administration which was maintained for taxing pur-
poses ; like the last Emperors of Rome, whose reigns
also average two and a half years ; or like the Coptic
232 FOURTEENTH DYNASTY [dyn. xiv.
administration of Egypt, maintained during the supre-
macy of Islam as being the only practicable way of
working the country. Later on, when the Hyksos had
established a firm hold on all the land, and had a strong
rule of their own, these native viceroys were permitted
a longer tenure of power, and formed the XVIth
dynasty contemporary with the great Hyksos kings.
-c,2oq8-i587.J the HYKSOS 233
CHAPTER X
Fifteenth to Seventeenth Dynasties. The Hyksos.
About 2098-1587 b.c.
This period of the foreign domination of Asiatic
invaders is so strongly marked that we cannot but
treat it as a whole. Unfortunately, there are very
few materials for the study of it ; almost all our infor-
mation is in the extract which Josephus made from the
history of Manetho, which shows also what a real
history the account of Manetho was, and how the
lists that we possess are the merest skeleton of
his writings.
Apion has conferred a great benefit on history, by
stinging Josephus into framing a splendidly mistaken
theory of the glory of the Jewish race in Egypt,
which he elaborated with nationalist fervour, calling
in the Hyksos to figure as Hebrews domineering over
Egyptians. It is through this valuable error that
what was known of these invaders, by the later
Egyptians, has been preserved. The account is so
important that it should be read in full, so far as
the Hyksos period is concerned. He quotes from
Manetho : —
" We had formerly a king whose name was Timaios.
[n his time it came to pass, I know not how, that God
vas displeased with us ; and there came up from the
East in a strange manner men of an ignoble race, who
lad the confidence to invade our country, and easily
mbdued it by their power without a battle. And when
234 THE HYKSOS [nvN. w. xvn
they had our rulers in their hands, they burnt our
cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and
inflicted every kind of barbarity upon the inhabitants,
slaying some, and reducing the wives and children of
others to a state of slavery.
"At length they made one of themselves king, whose
name was Salatis : he lived at Memphis, and rendered
both the upper and lower regions of Egypt tributary,
and stationed garrisons in places which were best
adapted for that purpose. But he directed his atten-
tion principally to the security of the eastern frontier ;
for he regarded with suspicion the increasing power of
the Assyrians, who he foresaw would one day under-
take an invasion of the kingdom. And observing in
the Saite nome, upon the east of the Bubastite channel,
a city which from some ancient theological reference
was called Avaris ; and finding it admirably adapted to
his purpose, he rebuilt it, and strongly fortified it with
walls, and garrisoned it with a force of 250,000 men
completely armed. To this city Salatis repaired in
summer, to collect his tribute and pay his troops, and
to exercise his soldiers in order to strike terror into
foreigners." (For Saite perhaps read Sethroite.)
**And Salatis died after a reign of nineteen years ;
after him reigned another king who was called Beon
forty-four years ; and he was succeeded by Apakhnas,
who reigned thirty-six years and seven months ; after
him reigned Apophis sixty-one years, and lanias fifty
years and one month. After all these reigned Assis
forty-nine years and two months. These six were
the first rulers amongst them, and during the whole
period of their dynasty they made war upon the
Egyptians with the hope of exterminating the whole
race.
** All this nation was styled Hyksos, that is. Shepherd
Kings ; for the first syllable Hyk in the sacred dialect
denotes a king, and sos signifies a shepherd, but this
only according to the vulgar tongue ; and of these is
compounded the term Hyksos. Some say they were
Arabians. This people who were thus denominated
B.C. 2098-1587.1 THE HYKSOS 235
Shepherd Kings, and their descendants, retained posses-
sion of Egypt during the period of five hundred and
eleven years.
** And after these things he relates that the kings of
Thebais, and of the other provinces of Egypt, made
an insurrection against the Shepherds, and that a long
and mighty war was carried on between them, till the
Shepherds were overcome by a king whose name was
Misfragmouthosis, and they were by him driven out of
the other parts of Egypt, and hemmed up in a place
containing about ten thousand acres which was called
Avaris. All this tract (says Manetho) the Shepherds
surrounded with a vast and strong wall, that they might
retain all their property and their prey within hold of
their strength.
**And Thummosis, the son of Misfragmouthosis,
endeavoured to force them by a siege, and beleaguered
the place with a body of four hundred and eighty
thousand men ; but at the moment when he despaired
of reducing them by a siege, they agreed to a capitu-
lation, that they would leave Egypt, and should be
permitted to go out without molestation, wheresoever
they pleased. And according to this stipulation, they
departed from Egypt, with all their families and
effects, in number not less than two hundred and forty
thousand, and bent their way through the desert
towards Syria. But as they stood in fear of the
Assyrians, who then had dominion over Asia, they
built a city in that country which is now called Judaea,
of sufficient size to contain this multitude of men, and
named it Hierosolyma."
Now, summarising this account, with the additional
light of the other indications that we have, the follow-
ing outline lies before us.
The country was disorganised, and incapable of
resisting any active foe, when from the East there
poured in a barbaric people, who settled, and seized
on the government of the country, harrying and
plundering, while the native rulers were at their
mercy. After a century of this confusion they be-
236 THE HYKSOS [dyn. xv.-xvii.
came more civilised, probably by the culture inherited
from the Egyptian mothers of the second and third
generation.
Then they established a monarchy of their own in
the Egyptian fashion, adopting the usages of the
country, and keeping native administrators in their
power to claim the allegiance of the people. Six
kings of this stable period are recorded ; Salatis,
the first, rebuilt Hauar — probably Tanis — as a strong-
hold, while Memphis was adopted by him as his
capital. The succession of the great kings was as
follows —
XVth Dynasty. b.c
aYM>ut
Salatis .
Beon (Bn5n) .
Apakhnas (Pakhnan )
Ap5fis .
lanias (Sethos)
Assis (Kertos + Aseth)
. 19 years
. 44
• 36 y* 7 "^o*
. 61
. 50 y. I mo.
. 49 y. 2 mo.
1998
1979
'935
1898
1837
1787
'738
The variants are those of Syncellus and Africanus;
but the latter alters the order, omitting the last two
kings, and inserting after Pakhnan the names of Staan
50 years, and Arkhles 49 years — the same reigns as
the last two here, but different names and succes-
sions. This is probably an error of Africanus, but
may well embody two more of the Hyksos names,
Staan and Arkhles, from a part of their list now lost
to us.
The whole duration of the foreign dominion of this
people and their descendants was 511 years. Then
the Thebaid revolted, expelled them under Aahmes
(Misfragmouthosis is quite a possible form from the
known titles of the king, Aahmes 'pa 'her 'nub 'thes'taui),
i^.«ca .587-1 THE HYKSOS 137
and restricted them to Tanis. Lastly, Tahutmes I.
forced them to retreat into Syria, where they settled in
the region of the hill country from which they had come
(for the statement that Hebron was built seven years
before Zoan, Num. xiii, 22, links the two cities together),
r migration
much has been
r through which they had passed (
into Egypt.
As to the origin of the Hyksc
written, though but little is
certain. We cannot improve
on the origin of the name
given by Manetho : hyk or
heq, a prince, and s6s or shasu,
the generic name of the shep-
herds or pastoral races of the
eastern deserts. On later
monuments the Shasu are
represented as typical Arabs.
This usage of heq for the
chief is like that of the heq
setu or " chief of the deserts,"
the title of the Semitic Absha
in the Xllth dynasty, and of
Khyan before him.
One evidence regarding the
race, which has been largely
relied on, is the peculira
physiognomy of many statues
and sphinxes which have been
attributed to this period (Figs.
140-143). The so-called Hyksos sphinxes of Tanis,
the statue from the Fayum, that of the Esquilinc
at Rome, the colossi of Bubastis, and some smaller
pieces in museums, all show one type of face,— high
cheek-bones, flat cheeks, both in one plane, a massive
nose, firm projecting lips, and thick hair, with an
austere and almost savage expression of power, cha-
racterise all these works. That they are as old as
the Hyksos cannot be doubted, as they bear Hyksos
names cut upon them ; but lately it has been qucs-
»38
THE HYKSOS
tioned whether they are not much older than these
invaders. Though the Hyksos names are the oldest
now legible on the figures, they are merely inscribed
lightly on the right shoulder, like the name of Apepa on
the right shoulder of Mermeshau at Tanis ; and no
Hyksos name occurs on the breast or between the
paws of the sphinxes. Meyer has concluded that
they belong to the
invaders oftheVIIIth-
Xth dynasty ; and as
now Khyan is pro-
bably fixed to thai
period, we know thai
fine work in blach
granite or syenite was
being done then. Un-
fortunately, the head
of the Khyan statue
has not been found;
no matter how bat-
tered, it would have
sufficed to show
whether the "Hyksos
type " belonged to the
earlier or later in-
vaders.
A new theory has
just been proposed
by Golenischeff (Rec
XV. 131), that the so-called Hyksos statues repre-
sent Amenemhat III. A statue of his, Fig. 108 {now
at St. Petersburg) has some resemblance to the strange
type ; and a nameless statue belonging to Professor
Golenischeff, which he illustrates along with the others,
is undoubtedly of that type. But yet the Amenemhat
is sufficiently distinct, in the lips, the chin, and the
angle of the face,— even in its battered condition, — to
make it difficult to accept it a^ a real origin of this
strange type. If, however, that type belongs to Asiatic
invaders during the IXth-Xth dynasty, it is obvious
THE HVKSOS
"39
how the Xllth may have intermarried with their
descendants, and have shown some traits of their
features. The admirable photographs which accom-
pany the paper (in Rec. xv.) will enable a judgment
to be formed on the question.
The only foreign parallel to this type of face is found
among the foes of Ramessu II. in North Syria ; but as
the question whether this peculiar race and their works
Fig. 141. — Granile head, Buhistis.
are to be classed with the IXth or the XVth dynasty
cannot yet be really determined, the subject of the
physiognomy of the Hyksos and their origin must still
await a decisive settlement.
The question of portraiture being thus in abeyance,
there is but one clue left to the origin of the
Hyksos, in the names of their kings. Now, doubt-
3.to THE HYKSOS Ibvk. «.-«>"
ful as such a clue might be in one or l\io cases, yel
when we find that the Greek forms would well represent
such Semitic names as "the ruler," "the governor,"
"the oppressor," " tbe firm," and "the destroyer," it
seems to give some weight to a Semitic origin for the
people. Such names are more likely thn.u a promiiitnt
irail, BiibnstTs.
Semitic name of our own century, Jezzar Pasha, "the
cutter" or "butcher" ; and they are much in keeping
with the character given to the Hyk;
Of the actual remains there <
belonging to the Hyksos kings, ;
Apepa I. and 11.
but very few
those only of
B.C 1898-1837.1
APEPA I
241
XV. 4. Ra'aa'user
Apepa I.
Fig. 144. — Cartouche of Apepa I.,
Gebelen (G. Mus.).
Bubastis, Inscription
Kahun, Stamp
Gebelen, Inscription
Papyrus mathematical
Palettes
Scarabs.
(N.B. XXXV., c).
(P.K. xii. 16).
(Rec. xiv. 26).
(B. Mus.).
(Beriin).
The inscription at Bubastis with the name Apepa is
upon red granite, and therefore was probably due to
the first Apepa, one of the six great kings, who ruled
the whole of Egypt. It records how Apepa had erected
**many columns and a gate of brass to this god"
(N.B. xxii. A, XXXV. c).
A wooden stamp found at Kahun (P.K. xii. 16) may
belong to the king, or to a private person (F.P.
Coll.).
A lintel found at Gebelen (Fig. 144) bears the name
of **the living good god, Ra'aa'user," twice repeated
(Rec. xiv. 26; G. Mus.). This is of great value as
showing, what Manetho states, that both Upper
and Lower Egypt were reduced by the great Hyksos
kings.
Of small objects, there is a mathematical papyrus
(B. Mus.) written in the thirty-third year of the reign
I— 16
242
APEPA I
(OYN. XV.
of this king (A.Z. xiii. 40; S.B.A. xiv. 29). Also two
palettes at Berlin, with both names of the king (S.B.A.
iii. 97). Several scarabs (Fig. 145) with the throne
(F.P.)
(P.P.) (B. Mas.) (P.P.)
I''lG. 145. — Scarabs of Apepa I.
(F.P.)
name are known, some of them very rude and blundered
(B. Mus. 3 ; P. Mus. 2 ; Leyden ; F.P. Coll. 4).
XVII. Ra'aa-qenen
C
\y A/WVW
n /v/w/vAA
"N about
Jj 1650 B.C.
Apepa II.
(jMn
Tanis
Memphis ?
Statue usurped
Inscriptions
Altar
Louvre
(P.T.I, iii. 17c).
(M.D. 38).
(W.G. 295).
The statues of Mer'meshau, at Tanis, have down
the right shoulder of each a line of added inscription,
small, and not very disfiguring. It reads : ** Good
God, Ra'aa'qenen, son of the Sun, Apepa, giving life,
beloved of Set." The figure of Set was, however,
honourably placed first in the inscription, but was
carefully hammered out in later times. Very probably
the other lines of erased inscriptions on the right
shoulders of the sphinxes at Tanis were also of this
r.Sjix)
APEPA II.
243
king;. And a sphinx at Ismailiyeh (from Tell Mas-
khuta) has a line of similar erasure on the shoulder,
and the whole head has been recut, and the mat
of hair on the shoulders and chest removed, by
Ramessu II.
In Cairo a fine and perfect altar of black granite
(Fig. 146) was found, dedicated to Set of Hauar,
or Avaris, by this king; ; it probably came from
Memphis or Heliopolis (M.D. 38). Now in Ghizeh
Museum.
F:o, 146.— Black granite altar of Apepa II., Cairo {G. Mus.).
A statue in the Louvre has been read as of Apepa
originally (W.G. 295), but usurped later by Amen-
hotep III. It does not seem at all certain that the list
of thirty-six conquered Nubian races belonged to the
first owner, and it may be an addition put on by the
usurper. That this king belongs to the XVIIth
dynasty is indicated by his name, A&'qenen'ra, being of
the same type as that of Se'qenenra Ta-aa, with
whom he is also associated in the tale of Apepa and
Seqenenra (Sail. Pap. i).
RASESEH, STELE OF 400 YEARS
Perhaps of this same age
is an obelisk at Tanis
(Fig. 147), inscribed on all
sides by a king Ra-aa-seh
Such a
G
,m
■
11
^^
=
■a>
wise unknown ; but agrees
in type to the throne names
of the Apepas (P.T. I. ii. 20).
Lastly, there is the cele-
brated monument of Ra-
messu n., dated in the
400th year of "the king of
Upper and Lower Egypt, Frc. 147.— Obelisk of Ra-aaseh.
Sefaa-pehti, son of the Sun, Tanis-
Nubti'set, beloved of Horakhti" {A.Z. iii. 34). As
this is the only monument dated with a fixed era in
Egypt, it has naturally received much attention. The
most reasonable view seems to be that this was a
reckoning established by a Hyksos king, and used at
Tanis continuously to the time of Ramessu IL It has
also been shown that an entry in the lists of Africanus
at the close of the XXlVth dynasty, of 990 years, is
perhaps in accord with this era (A.Z. xvii. 138). As
the last of the great Hyksos kings, Aseth {or Assis),
is stated by Syncellus in his extracts to have revised
the calendar, it is the more likely that some such era
was established then. This statement is not, however,
satisfactory, as he is said to have added the 5 days
to the year of 360 days, which are known to have been
in use long before his time ; but it may well be that
some other reformation has been thus misstated.
The actual interval from Aseth to Ramessu I. is about
151 +260 years or 41 1 years, thus leaving nothing for
the reign of Sety I., and for the portions of the end of
the reign of Aseth and beginning of that of Ramessu II.
The period of 990 years from the time of Beken'ran'f
of the XXIVth dynasty, would yield about 720 + 990 =
1710 B.C. for the date of king Sefaapehti, within about
DUDUMES— RASE'BEQ-KA
I4S
5 years of uncertainty ; and similarly the date 720+ 590
= 1310 B.C. ought to fall within the reign of Ramessu
II. But from the chronology, so far as we can now
reckon it, this would be about 35 years too early for
Ramessu II., though the HyStsos date would easily fall
within the wide limits of their period. Hence this use
of the 990 years does not seem very satisfactory.
A few names that are hitherto quite unfixed in
position, but which probably precede the XVIIth and
XVlIIth dynasties, require to be mentioned.
Ra'DAD'NEFER
DUDU'MES
CSHD
This king has been found on a scene at Gebelen,
representing him being conducted by Khonsu to Anpu.
He is referred to the XVIth dynasty by Daressy (Rec.
xiv. 26) J but from the occurrence of the name with
graffiti of Pepy, he is placed in the Vllth-VIIIth
dynasty by Sayce. From the style of a scarab of his
(F.P. Coll.), it appears that the Xth dynasty would be
about his period (Fig. 148),
Ra-se-beq-ka r O |1 ^ U J
This name occurs
a cylinder (Fig, i
from Kahun (P. I. ^
36) as the name of a
king, "nefer neter , . .
beloved of Sebek lord
of Sunu." It belongs
to the Xlllth or XlVth
Fig. 149.-- Cylindera (F.P. Coll.'
246
RA-HOTEP
dynasty apparently; and a similar cylinder was recently
sold at Luxor (both F.P. Coll.).
RAs.? (q-^^^
HOTEP
CEHZ1
These names occur together on the
rock (Fig. 150) of the Shut er Regal
valley (P.S. 430). Possibly the bird
reads sa^ and this might thus be the
same as No. 48 in the Turin list.
Fig, 150.— Rock mark-
ing. Silsileh.
Senb
I n
j\
T\
This occurs on a stone at Gebelen (S.B.A. xv. 498).
RA'SEKHEM'UAH'KHA
R A -HOTEP
fill
s
J\
V Q I Q D ^
Fig. 151.—
Scarab (F.P. Coll.).
Stele. Koptos.
Ostraka, subsequent tale (P. Mus. ; F. Mus.).
Scarabs.
The only contemporary monument of this king is a
much broken stele just found at Koptos. From that
it appears that he had rearranged and endowed the
RAHOTEP 247
temple there after a period of decay. His date and
position are yet unfixed, but the titles, Hor Ualvankh^
lord of vulture and uraeus User'ra'rcnpitu^ Hor uub
Uaz,...j are akin to those of the early XVIII th
dynasty, and indicate that he did not long precede that.
On the other hand, the resemblance of the throne name
to those of Sebekemsaf I. and Upuatemsaf would point
to a close connection with the XIII th dynasty. Pos-
sibly this group of kings may be those of the XVIth
dynasty under the great Hyksos kings, midway be-
tween the Xlllth and the XVIIIth, to each of whicl\
the names bear a resemblance. The stele is of rather
rough work, and unhappily the top scene has nearly all
been lost.
The portions of a tale concerning Rahotep are on
ostraka of a later age, about the XXth dynasty
(P. Mus. ; F. Mus.), in which mention is made of
going to the tomb of king Rahotep, and at that place
a mummy speaks, and states that **When I lived on
earth I was treasurer of king Rahotep, and I died in
the 14th year of king Ra-men-hotep" (Rec. iii. 3,
xvi. 31 ; Contes Populaires, 291). Some few scarabs
are known, all of small size, and not distinctive.
248 NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
CHAPTER XI
Notes on Chronology
Although the questions of the Egyptian chronology
are among the most difficult, they are also among the
most essential to be considered. The various data that
exist need that full discussion, in the light of modern
knowledge of the subject, which they have never yet
had. To treat them properly would entail a length of
research, and an elaboration of treatment, which is
quite beyond the scope of a history such as this. Yet,
until such a work is undertaken, some provisional
results are required for use ; and I only propose here
to go briefly over the outline of the materials which we
have already noticed, and to connect that with the
most prominent fixed data that we have. The results
must, of course, be stated in years according with our
era, but that will not therefore imply that we are
certain of our results to within a year ; only that, as we
have often to consider short spaces of time during a
dynasty, it is needlessly clumsy to deal with only
round tens or hundreds of years. The figures in years,
then, are only good for short differences of age, and
we must always remember what our uncertainties are.
The chronology rests on two modes of reckoning: (i)
that by "dead reckoning," or adding the dynasties up
one on another ; (2) by certain fixed astronomical data,
into the interpretation and calculation of which various
uncertainties may enter. The more apart these modes
can be kept the better, as then they serve to check
each other.
NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY 249
The fundamental fact on which all of our astronomically
fixed points depend is the imperfection of the Egyptian
calendar. Using a year of 365 days, it followed that the
nominal beginning of each year was a quarter of a day
too soon : just as if we were to neglect the 29th of
February in leap years, and go on always from 28th
February direct to ist March. Thus every four years
a day was slipped, and the nominal months of the year
were begun a day too soon. In 4x7 = 28 years they
began, then, a week too soon. In 4 x 30 = 1 20 years they
began a month too soon ; and after twelve months and
five days thus slipped, or in 1460 years, they began a
year too soon, and so had rotated the nominal months
through all the seasons. This would not cause any
trouble to any one generation of men, as the change in
one man's life would not be more than two or three
weeks ; hence this slow shift would be unperceived in
the affairs of daily life ; and as the Egyptians were not
addicted much to historical researches, they would not
be thrown out by finding that the harvest or inundation
could occur in any month of the year, according to the
date of their research.
This loss of the day in four years was, however, soon
known to the Egyptians, and used by them as a mode
of constructing a great cycle, which in Ptolemaic times
became very prominent, and entered into all their
fanciful adjustments of history and myths.
Some mode of noting the absolute months, as related
to the seasonal periods, became a necessity ; and, of
course, the place of the sun among the stars most truly
shows the exact length of the year. But how to observe
both sun and stars, when without any mode of time-
dividing, — such as clepsydra or clock, — was an essential
difficulty. This* was got over by noting on what day
a particular star could be first seen, at its emerging
from the glow of the sunlight. In actual practice they
observed Sirius (or Sothis), the dog-star; and as the stars
all rise and set earlier and earlier every night, they ob-
served what was the first night in the year on which Sirius
could just be seen emerging from the glow of sunlight
250 NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
at dawn, and this was entitled the heliacal rising.
Hence, from using Sothis for this observation, the whole
period during which the months rotated in the seasons
was called the Sothic period of 1460 years. We have
some definite statements as to this in Roman times.
Censorinus, writing in 239 a.d., states that the Egyptian
New Year's day, ist of Thoth, fell on the 25th of June ;
and a hundred years before, in 139 a.d., it fell on the 21st
July, "on which day Sirius regularly rises in Egypt."
Hence the beginning of a Sothic period of 1460 years, or
the New Year's day falling on the 21st of July at the
heliacal rising of Sirius, took place in 139 a.d. ; likewise
in 1322 B.C., in 2784 B.C., and in 4242 B.C., or there-
abouts.
From this it is plain, that, as the nominal months
rotated round all the seasons once in each of these
cycles, therefore, if we only know the day of the nominal
month in which any seasonal event happened, — such as
the rising of Sirius, or the inundation, — we can find on
what part of the cycle of 1460 years such a coincidence
can have fallen.
It is from data such as this that Mahler has lately
calculated, by the rising of Sirius, and also the new
moons, that Tahutmes III. reigned from 20th March
1503 B.C., to 14th February 1449. And though it
would be very desirable to use all the data of the kind
together in one general discussion, yet until this is
done we may provisionally accept Mahler's calculation
as a basis.
This, fortunately, has two checks, one on either
side of it ; and, for the sake of clearness, we will
use Mahler's datum provisionally. First, we must
outline the dates of the XVIIIth-XIXth dynasty, as
reckoned out by the best information we have, on the
reigns and the relationships ; and though we may be
doubtful within ten years about it, yet it will suffice
to show if the other astronomical dates are near the
mark.
The reasons for this arrangement of the XVIIIth
dynasty cannot be entered on here, but will be dis-
NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
25 >
cussed in the next volume. Provisionally, I arrange
it thus —
B.C.
1587
B.C.
1383
Aahmes I.
Amenhotep IV.
1562
1365
Amenhotep I.
Rasmenkhka.
154'
•353
Tahutmes I.
Tutankhamen.
1516
'344
Tahutmes II.
Ay.
1503
•332
Hatshepsut.
Horemheb.
1481
1328
Tahutmes III.
Ramessu I.
1449
1327
Amenhotep II.
Sety I.
1423
'275
Tahutmes IV.
Ramessu II.
1414
1208
Amenhotep III.
1383
Merenptah.
But many small questions, of coregencies, etc., are
necessarily uncertain. The total for the XVI 11th
dynasty comes out as 260 years against Manetho's 263.
Now, one good datum is, that Merenptah celebrated
in the second year of his reign a festival of the rising of
Sirius on the 29th of the month Thoth. Mahler has
fixed the rising of Sirius, recorded on 28th Epiphi under
Tahutmes III., as in 1470 B.C. From 28th Epiphi to 29th
Thoth is 66 days, which the heliacal rising would change
to in the course of 4 x 66 years, or 264 years. This, from
1470, gives 1206 B.C. for the second year of Merenptah,
or 1208 B.C. for his accession, which is just the date we
have reached by the approximate summing of the reigns.
Another datum on the other side is the calendar of the
Ebers papyrus, which records the rising of Sirius on the
9th of Epiphi in the ninth year of Amenhotep I. The
reading of the king's name has been much debated ;
but this is the last, and probable, conclusion. Now,
from the 28th to the 9th of Epiphi is 19 days, which
Sirius would change through in 76 years ; so that the
rising on the 9th of Epiphi took place in 1470 + 76 =
2S2
NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
1546 B.C. ; and the first year of Amenhotep I. would be
thus fixed in 1555 B.C. The date before reached is 1562
B.C., equal to a difference of less than 2 days in the
time of Sirius' rising. This, at least, shows that there
is no great discrepancy. Thus there are three data for the
rising of Sirius, which agree within a few years, though
at considerably different epochs. The whole question
of the exact epoch depends on the observations and
calculations as to the rising of Sirius ; those, however,
cannot be very far in doubt, and these three data leave
no doubt of the general interpretation of the materials,
and assure us of the general position of our results.
W^e therefore have as a starting-point for our back-
ward reckoning the accession of the XVIIIth dynasty
about 1587 B.C. From this we can reckon in the
dynastic data given by Manetho ; following this account
rather than the totals of reigns, as he appears to have
omitted periods when dynasties were contemporary, as in
the 43 years for the XI th after the close of the Xth. Thus,
from the above starting-point of 1587 B.C., we reach the
following results, solely by using material which has been
discussed and settled in this history on its own merits
alone, and without any ulterior reckoning in total periods.
YEARS
B.C
4777
YEARS.
B.C.
3006
Dyna
sty
I.
263
4514
Dynasty X.
185
2821
II.
302
4212
XI.
43
2778
III.
214
3998
„ XII.
213 (T.P.)
2565
IV.
277
3721
XIII.
453
2II2
V.
218
3503
XIV.
184
1928
VI.
181 (T. P.)
3322
XVI.
190
1738
VII.
70
3252
XVII.
151
1587
VIII.
146
3106
„ XVIII.
260
1327
IX.
100
3006
XIX.
NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY 253
For all the earlier periods we have but one check,
and that a vague one. We know that when Una
quarried alabaster at Hat-nub — or Tell el Amarna — he
did it in 17 days of the month Epiphi ; and that yet
he could not get it down to the pyramid before the Nile
began to subside. There are some rather vague points
about this, as the part of the month of 30 days in which
the 17 fell, the time required to get down, which
would perhaps be only 6 or 8 days (as Hat-nub is
not so far up the Nile as was supposed when this was
considered before, P.S. 20), and the time of the Nile
falling. Putting the fall at about November 5, the boat
would have left Hat-nub about October 28 ; and the 17
days would be to October 11. Hence Epiphi would fall
within 6 days of October 5 to November 5. This date
would be that of Epiphi at about 3350 B.C., if we reckon
the 1460 year periods back from 139 a.d. What small
differences might be made by a fuller consideration of
the details of the 1460 period we cannot at present say.
At least, the result would not be widely different from
this, probably within a century of it. Having, then, 3350
B.C. for the reign of Merenra, and adding about 60
years, we reach about 3410 B.C. for the beginning of the
Vlth dynasty, with an uncertainty (to put it liberally)
of 50 or 100 years.
This 3410 B.C., then, should be equal to the date
that we find by the dead reckoning of dynasties back
from the XVIIIth to the Vlth, which is given in
that way as 3503 b.c. And this shows that we have
to deal with errors which are probably within a
century, and that we are not left with several centuries
of uncertainty.
In the present rough state of the astronomical data,
and the doubts as to the MS. authorities, we have
reached quite as close an equivalence as we may hope
for ; and at least there is enough to show us that we
may trust to the nearest century with fair grounds of
belief.
These dates, then, are what I have provisionally
adopted in this history ; and though they are stated to
254 NOTES ON CHRONOLOGY
the nearest year, for the sake of intercomparison, it
must always be remembered that they only profess to
go to within a century in the earlier parts of the scale.
I only wish it were possible to repeat this on every
occasion of stating a date ; it cannot be too well remem-
bered.
INDEX
All Ra names of kings are placed together under Ra, K^ ^i^^g^
Q, Queen f pr. , Priest,
PiAi K., 109, 117.
Aa'ab, K., 206, 219.
Aa'hotep'ra, K., 109, 117.
Aam, Q., 132.
Aam (Lower W. Nubia), 94, 99,
Aasen, pr., 23.
Aba, pr., 102.
Absha, 172.
Abydos, tabic of kings, 17.
Ada, 151.
Adu, pr., 91, 98, 102.
Affa, pr., 71.
Ahy, pr., 98.
Aimery, pr., 42, 72, 73, 74.
Aimhetep, K., 30, 31, 66.
Aken, 181.
Akherkin, 163.
Akhet'hotep, tomb of, 26.
Akhet'hotep, pr., 76, 78, 79, 84.
Akhet'hotep 'her, pr., 73.
Alabaster quarry, 45, 95, 253.
„ vases, 76, 88, 104.
Amenemhat I., K., 145, 148.
II., K., 145, 164.
III., K., 145, 184.
„ IV., K., 145, 196.
Ameny (short for Amenemhat),
165.
Ameny Antef Amenemhat, K.,
206, 207.
Ameny 'senb, 103.
Amtes, Q., 94.
Amu (Eastern Semites), 94, 120,
i55» i72> 193-
An, K., 75.
Ana, K., 206, 220.
Ana'ankh, 76.
An'ab (see Snaa'ab), K., 226.
An'ab, K., 228.
Ankefdudu, 211.
Ankh'ef, pr., 23.
Ankh*em*aka, pr., 72, 76.
Anklrhapi, pr., 34.
Annu, K., 109.
An'ren, K., 206.
Antef (official), 151.
Antef *a (prince), 126.
Antef I., K., 109, 124, 127.
II., K., 109, 124, 128.
III., K., 109, 124, 129.
IV., K., 109, 124, 133.
v., K., 109, 124, 135.
VI., K., 124, 141.
Anu, K., 206.
Anu (Nubians), 183.
Apa'ankh, 88.
Apakhnas, K., 234, 236.
Apepa I., K. 234, 236, 241.
,, i^l't I^*i 242.
Apis, titles of, 26.
Apophis, K., 234, 236.
Aquiline race, 10.
255
256
INDEX
Arqo, 216.
Art, teaching of, 140.
Arthet (Upper W. Nubia), 94,
99-
Asa, pr., 87.
Assa, K., 79, 100.
Assa'kha, pr., 91.
Assis, K., 234, 236.
Asyut tombs, 115.
Ata, K., 20.
Ata, pr., 72, 73, 76, 91.
Ateth, K., 20.
Ati, pr., 78.
Atmu'neferu, 171, 175.
Atush, pr., 79.
Aty, K., 86, 88.
Aufni, K., 206.
Auhet'abu, Q., 211.
Ay, K., 206, 220.
Ba'NETERU, K., 21, 23.
Basalt of Khankah, 3, 22.
Ba'ur'dedu, 100.
Bebn'm , K., 227.
Beni Hasan tombs, 149, 159,
165, 172.
Beon, K., 234, 236.
Bezau, K., 21, 22.
Birket Qurun, 190.
Brickwork, panelling of, 51.
Bubastis, chasm at, 22.
Bulls, worship of, 22.
Burial customs, 11, 28, 37.
Canal of the cataract, 179.
Caverns collapsed, 4.
Chronology, vi, 95, no, 146,
198, 201, 244, 248-254.
Chronology, absence of early,
9-
Chronology, compilation of, 17.
Copper tools, 7.
Cylinders, earliest, 55.
DaD'KA'SHEMA'RA, K., 108.
Dates of dynasties, 252. (See
Chronology.)
Dating on monuments, 157.
Debehen, 55.
Delta, structure of, 7.
Deng, dancer, 100.
Dep-em-ankh, pr., 34, 42, 53,
55, 71, 72, 84.
Deposition decree, 136.
Divine dynasties, 9.
Dogs on Antef stele, 134,
Dudu, pr., 34.
Dudumes, K., 245.
Dynastic lists, authority of, 16-
20.
Dynasties, divine, 9.
Thinite kings, 9.
Ist-IIIrd, 16.
„ remains of, 26.
1st, 20.
Ilnd, 21.
Ilird, 21.
IVth, 30.
Vth, 68.
Vlth, 86.
Vllth-Xth, 108.
Xlth, 124.
growth of, 143.
Xllth, 145.
character of, 199.
Xlllth, 201, 206.
XI Vth, 201, 227.
XVth, 201, 236, 241.
XVIth, 201.
XVIIth, 201.
XVIIlth, reigns of,
251.
dates of, 252,
Edom
Egypt
154-
ans, origin of, 13, 28, 29.
(See Races.)
Elephantine, 70.
Fault in Nile valley, 2.
Fayum, 2, 151, 159, 168, 193,
213.
Fayum, development of, 19a
Female succession, 23.
Fetish pole of Min, 14.
Flints, worked, 5-8.
Foreign invaders, 118, 172.
Four hundred year stele, 244.
Funeral customs, 11, 28, 37i
155-
GoA^ iTjiiiMlai at V
GfaWk:'lcmBie. 4^
Gntwfcitfafafc-3-
H iliii y Ji. taapkA iSh
Hent-lai, Q^ 13&, iB3-
Herodota^ 41^ 191, 193.
Hesat, pr.. 7^
Hesepti. K.. 30. 24.
Hesy, paat-J- 'JL tb~A
Hetep-ber*. fW- fx.
HewD sloae bra oed, 23.
Hezeb...p, K^ 21.
History, eaify, ooo^nlauoa 0^
'9-
Hor... (or Har, or U«ra), K.,
2X8.
Hot, pr,, 153.
HoT'akau, K., 75.
Hor-dad-f, 63
Mar-kau'rs, K., 10^
Hormeren, K., ioS.
Hor'nefer, 144.
Hor'ncfer'bcn, K., 1061.
Hor'nefer 'ka. K., 10&
Hor'shesu (sec Sbemsu-har),
Hnr'uah'ankh, K., 133.
Hotep, K., 246.
Hotep-atikh'mcnkh {ka), K.,
K«s. 163.
Kefeh. k!. ^
Kenos. K., ajd.
Khafia. K., ^
Kbtonten, pr., 41,
Kb«n-|ier, K., jj6.
Khsivniiicrl. 139.
Khiiunr.ib-r.., aj.
KhnumluMop, pr,, 71,
.1 .1 (ami), 149, II
Khnum Khuf, K., 4,t-
Kbua, IK.
Khufu,li., 30, 38.
KhuAi'ka'aru, iir., 41, 47.
Khyan, K., log, iiH.
Kings, 17, (Sro l.inloniiil I
KoU
nrillcNt
ilrllliiK, i
258
INDEX
Labyrinth, 187.
Large-eyed race, 11.
Lisht, fniements at, 53.
Lists of Kings, 17. (See Dy-
nasties.)
Lists of kings, compilation of,
'9-
Maa*ab*ra, K., 109, 116.
Maat'kha, 64.
Manefer, pr., 79.
Manetho, 16, 19.
,, on dynasties, Ist-
Illrd, 22, 23.
Mastaba form, 32, 33.
Mastabat el Faraun, 83.
Medum pyramid, 32.
,, tombs, 3(5.
Mehti'em'saf, 86, 97, 104.
Mena, K., 16, 22, 23, 24.
„ K. (Xlllth dyn.), 206,
221.
Mendes, 22.
Men-ka'ra, Q. (Vlth dyn.), 86,
104.
Men'kau'hor, K., 61, 68, 78.
Men'kauTa, K. (IVth dyn.), 30,
55-
Mentu'hotep I., K., 109, 124,
127.
Mentu'hotep IL, K., 109, 124,
Mentu'hotep IIL, K., 109, 124,
138-
Mentu'hotep, Q., 144.
, , divine father, 211.
Mera, pr., 87, 91.
Mer'ab, pr., 42.
Mcr'ba'pen, K., 20.
Mer'en'ra, K., 86, 97, 104.
Mer'meshau, K., 206, 209, 242.
Mer'seker, Q., 183.
Mer'tisen, artist, 140.
Mertiftefs, Q., 10, 31, 35.
Mery, tomb of, 26.
Mcrysankh, Q., 31, 35.
Mesniu, 10.
Methen, pr., 34.
Mezau (S. Nubians), 94, 152.
Min, prehistoric statues, 14.
Min'hon, pr., 71.
Moeris, lake, 19a
Mud, rate of deposit, 6.
M3rthical perioa of gfods, 9.
Neb'hotep, K., 127.
Neb'ka, K., 21, 23, 24, 25.
Neb'ka'ra, K., 21.
Neb'ka *n*ra, K., 24.
Nebt, 95.
Neby, K., 108, 113.
Nefer'ab'ra, pr., 42.
Nefer-ar'ka-ra, K. (Vth dyn.),
68,73.
Nefer-ar-ka-ra, K. (Vllltb
dyn.), 109.
Nefer'arfnef, pr., 72.
Nefer'f-ra, K., 68, 75.
Nefer'hotep, K., 2cJ6, 212.
Nefer'ka, K., 108.
Nefer-ka-ra, K. (Ilnd dyn.), ai,
23-
Nefer'ka'ra (Ilird dyn.), 21.
Nefer-ka'ra (Vlth dyn.), »,
lOI.
Nefer-ka-ra (Vlllth dyn.), 108,
ii3«
Nefer-maat, tomb, 36.
„ pr-* 53-
Nefer's, K., 108.
Nefert, Q., 174.
Nefert-kau, 31, 35.
Neferui-ka'dad'uah, K., 230.
Nehesi, K., 221.
Ne'ka'ankh, pr., 71.
Nekht-abs, pr., 76.
Nen-khetef'ka, pr., 71, 72.
Nenna, Q., 211.
Nenu, K., 227.
Net-aqerti, Q., 86, 104.
Neter-ka*ra, K., 86, 104.
Neteru {ka)y 26.
NHe deposit, rate of, 6.
„ levels of, 3, 5, 193, 209.
,, regulation of, 192.
Nile valley, fault, 2.
,, submergence, 5, 6.
Nitokris, Q., 105.
Nub -em -hat, Q., 218.
Nub-hotep-ta*khrcdet, 208.
INDEX
259
Nubian affairs (Vth dyn.), 94,
Nubian affairs (Xllth dyn.),
152, 160, 163, 178- 181.
Nub'kha's, Q., 224.
Obelisk of Begig, 150.
Obelisks, caps of, 157.
Obelisks of Ra, 65, 71.
Org-anisation of government,
149.
Pakhnan, K., 236.
Palasolithic flii^t, 5.
Palermo stone, 72.
Papyri, early kings in, 24.
Papyrus, oldest dated, 81.
Pa'seb'khanu, K., 44.
Pedunebti, K., 228.
Pehenuka, pr., 71, 73.
Penens...n'sept, K., 228.
Pepy I., K., 86, 89.
Pepy II., K., 86, loi.
Pepyna, pr., 91, 98.
Pepy'senb, K., 109.
Per'ab'sen, K,, 23.
Persen, 63.
Philistines, 15.
Phoenician race, 15.
Poem of praise, 182.
Pre-historic age, 1-15.
Psemtek, pr., 63.
Psemtek'menkh, pr., 42, 53, 63.
Ptah'bau'nefer, pr., 42, 72, 73,
76.
Ptah'du'aau, pr., 63.
Ptah'en'kau, 89.
Ptah'en'maat, pr., 73.
Ptah-hotep, pr., 71, 74, 75, 78.
,, proverbs of, 81.
Ptah'kha'bau, pr., 72, 73, 75,
76.
Ptah'nefer'art, pr., 78.
Ptah^neferu, 187, 188, 195.
Ptah'ru'en, pr., 73.
Ptah'se'ankh, pr., 91.
Ptah'shepses, 64.
,, pr., 84, 87.
Ptolemy Soter, K., 192.
Punt, 12, 14, 100, 141, 167.
Pyramids, design of, 39, 57, 90,
i$9, 176, 184.
Pyramids, development of, 32,
33-
„ sections of, 32, 57, 83.
„ theory of restoration,
58.
„ two of one king, 34,
55. 84.
Pyramids of Abu Roash, 56.
of Abu Sir, 71, 76.
of Dahshur, 176.
ofGizeh, 38, 47, 56.
of Hawara, 184.
of lUahun, 168.
of Medum, 32, 39.
of Riqqeh, 77.
of Sakkara, 8?, 87,
90» 97-
of Thebes, 133.
>»
Kings' Names.
Ra'aa'hotep, 109, 117.
Ra'aa'qenen, 242.
Ra'aa'seh, 244.
Ra'aa'user, 241.
Ra'ab'mery, 109, 114.
Ra*amen*em*hat, 206.
Ra'ankh'ka , 227.
Ra'dad'ef, 63.
Ra'dad'ka, 79.
Ra'dad'kheru, 227.
Ra'dad'nefer, 245.
Raen'ka, 108, 113.
Ra'en'maa'en'kha, 226
Ra'en'maat, 184.
Ra 'en 'user, 75.
Ra'fu'ab, 206, 208.
Ra'ha'shed , 227.
Ra'hathor'sa, 206.
Ra'her'ab, 227.
Ra'hotep, 246.
Ra'ka ab, 227.
Ra'ka'mery, 109, 115.
Ra'kha , 227.
Ra'kha'ankh, 206, 218, 229.
Ra'khaf, 47.
Ra'kha'hotep, 206, 219, 229
Ra'kha *ka, 206, 217, 220.
Ra'kha *kau, 176.
INDEX
Ra kha'kheper, 168.
Ra'kha'nefer, 206, 215, 22g,
Ra*kha*neferui, 23a
Ra'kha'seshes, 206, 212, 229.
Ra'khathi, 206.
Ra'kha'user, 109, 117.
Ra'kheper, 230.
Ra'kheper'ka, 156.
Ra'kheper kha, 168.
Ra*khu*taui, 206, 23a
Ra'maa'ab, 109, 116.
Ra'men'hotep, 247.
Ra'men'ka, 104.
Ra'men'kau, 55.
Ra'men'khau, 226.
Ra'mer'en, 97, 104.
Ra'mer'hotep, 206, 220, 230.
Ra'mer'kau, 206, 220, 229.
Ra'mer'kheper, 206.
Ra'mer'nefer, 206, 220.
Ra'mer'sekhem, 206, 230.
Ra'mery, 89.
Ra'mer'zefau, 227.
Ra'messu II., 171,
Ra'neb, 26.
Ra'neb'ati'au, 227,
Ra'neb'ka, 21, 26.
Ra'neb'kha, 106.
Ra'neb'kher, 138.
Ra'neb'maat, 206, 220.
Ra'neb'neferui, 230.
Ra'neb'sen, 227,
Ra'nefer, 230.
Ra'nefer'ab, 227, 229.
Ra'nefer'ankh, 230.
Ra'nefer'arka, 73, 109,
Ra'neferf, 75.
Ra'neferka (Ilnd dyn.), 21.
,, (Illrd dyn.), 21,
26.
Ra'nefer'ka (Vlth dyn.), loi.
„ (Vlllth dyn.), 108,
113-
Ra'nefer'kau, 109,
Ra'nefer'nub, 230.
Ra'nefeftum , 227.
Ra'nehesi, 206, 221.
Ra'neter'ka, 104.
Ra'nczem'ab, 206.
Ra'nub'hotep, 230.
Ra*nub*kaa, 164.
Ra'nub'kheperu, 134.
Ra*nub*neferui, 23a
Ra*nub*uaz, 230.
Ra'peh'nub, 230.
Ra'ra'neb'zefau, 227.
Ra'sa, 246.
Ra'sahu, 71,
Ra'Se'ankh , 227.
Ra*se*ankh'ab, 206, 207, 229.
Ra'se'ankh'ka, 141.
Ra*se*ankh'n, 206.
Ra'sebek'hotep, 206, 206.
Ra*sebek*ka, 65.
Ra'sebek'neferu, 197,
Ra'se'beq'ka, 245.
Ra'se'heb, 227.
Ra'se'hotep'ab, 148, 206^ 208.
Ra'se'kha'n, 109, 116.
Ra'sekhem , 227.
Ra'sekhem'ka, 206, 207.
Ra'sekhem *khu*taui, 206, 209*
229.
Ra'sekhem *nefer*khau, 225.
Ra 'sekhem 's 'shedti 'taui, 223.
Ra 'sekhem *se 'uaz *taui, 206, 21O)
229.
Ra'sekhem 'uah'ka, 246.
Ra'sekhem 'uaz *khau, 222, 250*
Ra'se'kheper'en, 227.
Ra'se'men'ka, 206, 227.
Ra'se'menkh'ka, 206, 209.
Ra'se'men , 227.
Ra'senb'ka, 227.
Ra'se'nefer'ka, 227, 229, 230.
Ra'seshes'her'hermaat, 127.
Ra'seshes'up'maat, 129.
Ra'ses'user'taui, 229.
Ra "set 'nub, 230.
Ra'set'pehti, 230.
Ra'se'uah'en, 230.
Ra'se'uaz'en, 229, 230,
Ra'se'uaz'ka, 206.
Ra'se'user , 227.
Ra'se'user'en, 118.
Ra'se'zefa'ab, 206.
Ra'shepses'ka, 74.
Ra'uah'ab, 206, 219.
Ra'uben, 206, 227.
Ra'user , 228.
INDEX
261
Raniser ra, 206.
Ra'user'ka, 88.
Ra, descent from, 69.
Ra, obelisks of, 65, 71.
Ra*ankh*ema, pr., 75, 78.
Ra'en'kau, pr., 71, 75,
Ra'hent, pr., 84, 88.
Ra-hotep (IVth dyn.), 36.
Ra'ka'pu, pr., 79.
Ra'nefer'ab, pr^, 42.
Ra'se'ankh, statue, 26.
Races, aquilihe, 10.
„ largfe-eyed, 11.
„ snouty, II.
Rainfall, ancient, 4.
References, v.
Restoration of pyramids, theory,
58.
Restoration of scarabs, 69.
Riqqeh, 77.
Sabu, pr., 84, 87.
Sahura, K., 68, 71.
Sakha, 231.
Sakhebu, 70.
Sakkara, list of, 17. (See Py-
ramids.)
Salatis, K., 234, 236.
Sanehat, adventures of, 153.
Sankh*ka*ra, K., 124, 141.
Sat'hathor, 1^7.
Sati (Asiatics), 152.
Scarabs, restored, 62.
Search for stone, 151.
Sebek'em'heb, 218.
Sebek'em'saf I,, K., 222.
Sebek^enrsauf II., K., 223.
Sebek'hotep I., K., 206, 209.
II., K., 206, 210.
III., K., 206, 215.
IV., K., 206, 218.
v., K., 206, 219.
VI., K., 206, 220.
Sebek'kaTa. K., 30, 31, 65.
Sebek'neferu, Q., 145, 187, 195,
197.
Sed festivals, 93, 131, 251.
Scden'maat, pr., 73, 75, 76.
Se'hotep'ab'ra, K., 148.
»»
I*
»»
»»
i»
Seker*ka*bau, tomb, 26.
Seker*nefer*ka, K., 21, 23.
Sem'en'ptah, K., 20, 22, 24.
Sem-nefer, 74, 75 ; pr., 78, 79.
Semneh and Kummeh, 181, 193.
Sen'amen, 75.
Senb, 211.
Senb'f, pr., 23.
Senb'maiu, K., 246.
Send, K., 21, 23, 24.
Sennu'ankh, pr., 71, 72.
Sent, Q., 144.
Sent 's 'senb, 176.
Sepa, statue of, 26.
Sesa, pr., 91, 102.
dCt «, XV. , 220a
Set'hetu, K., 206.
Sethos, K., 236.
Sethu (Upper E. Nubia), 99.
Sety I., compiled history, 19.
Se'user*en*ra, K., 118.
Sezes, K., 21.
Shat, 163.
Shemsu, K., 206, 221.
Shcmsu'har, la
Shemyk, 163.
Shepses'kaf, K., 30, 64.
Shepses'kaf'ankh, pr., 42, 72,
73-
Shepses'ka'ra, K., 68, 74.
Shera, pr., 23, 24.
Shcrt'sat, Q., 144.
Shcsha, pr., 91.
Shut er regal, tablets, 139, 142.
Sickles of flint, 8.
Sinai tablets, 35, 43» 7^ 78» 80,
92, 102, 158, 165, 189, 196.
Sirius cycle, 249.
,, festivals, 251.
S*kha*n*ra, K., 109, 116.
Snaa'ab, K., 226.
S'nefer'ka, K., 108, 109.
S'lieferu, K., 30, 31.
S'neferu'nefer, pr., 78, 79.
S-nezem-ab, pr., 71, 73, 74, 75,
76,84.
S'nezem*ab*antha, pr., 42.
Snouty race, 11.
Sothis cycle, 249.
in mythology, 10.
>>
»»
262
INDEX
Sothis festivals, 251.
Sphinx of Gizeh, 51.
ff in Louvre, 92.
Stele of 400 years, 244.
Suhtes, K., 74.
Sunu , K., 228.
Tablet of 400 years, 244.
Tablet of Sphinx, so-called, 44.
Tahutmes III., list of, 17.
,, „ date of, 250.
M IV., 52.
Tefaba, 115.
Temehu (Oasis), 94, 99, 153.
Temple of Gizeh, 43.
,, of Illahun, 171.
,, of Medum, 34.
Tererel or Tereru, K., 108.
Teta, K. (Athothis), 20, 21, 22,
23, 24.
Teta, K. (Vlth dyn.), 86, 87.
Tetu, pr., 138.
Thentha, pr., 34, 42.
Theta, 92.
Theta, pr., 53.
This, king^ of, 9, 10, 13.
Thunury, list of, 17,
Thuthu, 79.
Thy, pr., 73, 76.
Tombs, plundering" of, 224.
Tosorthos, K., 23.
Town of Kahun, 171,
Transliteration, xv.
Tumem, Q., 141.
Turin papyrus, 17, 18, 31, 84,
108, no, 201-205, ^^'*
Uash, pr., 53.
Uazed, K., 109, 121.
Uaz'nefenii, K., 230.
Uaz'nes, K., 21.
Uenefes, K., 22.
Uha, pr., 92.
Una, pr., 91, 98.
„ inscription of, 94.
Unas, K., 68, 82.
Un'nefer, pr., 23.
Up'uat*em*saf, K., 225.
Ur , K., 206.
Urama, pr,, 71,
Ur-khuu, pr., 55, 73.
User en 'ra, K., 68, 75.
User'ka'f, K., 68, 70.
User'ka'ra, K., 86, 88.
User'tesen I., K., 145, 156.
„ II., K., 145, 168.
„ III., K., 145, 176.
Uta, pr., 55.
Wawat (Lower E. Nubia), 94,
152-
Weight, earliest, 46.
„ of Hormera, 164.
Westcar papyrus, 20, 21, 29,
69.
Women, succession of, 23.
Xois, 230.
Ya'PEQ'HER, K., 109, 122.
Zau, pr., 95, 102.
Zauta, pr., 91, 98, 102.
Zautaker, 151.
Zazai, K., 21.
Zeser, K., 23, 24, 26.
Zeser'sa, K., 21.
Zeserti, K., 21.
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